REESE  LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


r 


R2PORT   OF  THE    COMMITTEE 
OF    TEN    ON     SECONDARY 
SCHOOL    STUDIES  *  WITH    THE 
REPORTS   OF  THE    CONFERENCES 
ARRANGED  BY  THE 
COMMITTEE 


, 


PUBLISHED  FOR  THE  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL 

ASSOCIATION      BY     THE     AMERICAN      BOOK 

COMPANY  {»  NEW  YORK,  CINCINNATI,  CHICAGO 

M  D  CCC  XC  IV 


COPYRIGHT,  1894,  BY 
THE  NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION 


Rep.  Com.  10 
M.  2 


>N 


(UNIVERSITY) 


PEEFATOEY  NOTE. 


The  Eeport  of  the  Committee  -of  Ten  on  Secondary  School 
Studies  is  now  generally  known  among  the  leading  educators  of  the 
country,  and,  while  there  is  much  diversity  of  opinion  respecting 
many  of  its  recommendations,  there  is  substantial  agreement  that 
it  is  the  most  important  educational  document  ever  issued  in 
the  United  States. 

Prepared  under  the  auspices  of  the  National  Educational  As- 
sociation, this  Eeport  was  first  published  by  the  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion, at  Washington,  and  distributed  at  public  expense  to  the 
extent  of  the  funds  available  for  that  purpose.  In  spite  of  this 
liberal  distribution,  many  thousands  of  instructors  and  educators 
could  not  receive  a  copy  from  that  source. 

In  view  of  the  importance  of  the  Eeport,  and  the  increasing 
demand  for  copies,  the  National  Educational  Association  has 
arranged  with  the  American  Book  Company  to  print  and  publish 
another  edition,  and  to  furnish  it  at  a  nominal  price,  that  its 
beneficial  influence  may  be  extended  still  more  widely. 

In  issuing  the  new  edition,  it  has  been  thought  best  to  make 
certain  improvements  in  the  make-up  of  the  book,  and  to  insert 
an  Analytical  and  Topical  Index,  by  which  convenient  and  in- 
stant reference  may  be  had  to  any  subject  mentioned  in  the 
Eeport  of  the  Committee,  or  in  those  of  the  nine  conferences. 


IV  PEEFATOEY    NOTE. 

Friends  of  the  Association  may  be  interested  to  know  that 
any  profit  which  may  be  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  Eeport  in 
this  form,  will  accrue  to  the  benefit  of  the  Association,  and  re- 
imburse, in  part,  the  very  considerable  expense  involved  in  its 
preparation. 

K  A  CALKINS, 

Chairman  of  Board  of  Trustees,  of 
National  Educational  Association. 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 


Page. 
Eeport  of  the  Committee  of  Ten 3 

Origin  of  the  Conferences 3 

Members  of  the  Committee  'of  Ten 4 

Subjects  of  the  Conferences 5 

List  of  Eleven  Questions 6 

Places  of  holding  Conferences 7 

Members  of  the  Nine  Conferences . .. 8 

Composition  of  Conferences 11 

Program  for  Twelve  Years'  Course 34- 

Program  for  High  Schools 37  - 

Classical  Program  for  High  Schools 41 

Minority  Report  of  President  Baker 56 

Report  of  Latin  Conference 60 

Report  of  Greek  Conference 70 

^  Report  of  English  Conference (Sy 

"-Report  of  .Other  Modern  Languages  Conference 96 

Report  of  Mathematics  Conference 104 

Report  of  Physics,  Chemistry,  and  Astronomy  Conference 117  « 

Minority  Report  of  W.  J.  Waggoner 123 

Minority  Report  of  Alfred  P.  Gage 123 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Experiments 124 

Report  of  Natural  History  Conference 138 

Nature  Study  for  Grades  below  the  High  School 142 

V 


VI  TABLE      OF     CONTENTS. 

Page. 
Botany  for  Common  Schools 151 

Zoology  for  Secondary  Schools 154 

Physiology  in  Primary  and  Secondary  Schools 158 

Report  of    History,  Civil  Government,  and  Political  Economy  Con- 
ference  162. 

Appendix  to  Report  of  History,  Civil  Government,  and  Political  Econ- 
omy Conference 202 

Report  of  Geography  Conference 204 

Minority  Report  of  Edwin  J.  Houston 237 


ANALYTICAL    INDEX. 


I.  AIMS  OF  EDUCATION. 

BOTANY,  result  of  first  four  years'  work,  148— of  first  six  years'  work, 
150.  ENGLISH,  objects  of  teaching,  86— formal  grammar,  89.  GEOGRAPHY, 
as  mental  discipline,  214 — observational  purpose  of,  211.  GEOMETRY,  pur- 
pose of,  115.  GERMAN  AND  FRENCH  in  grammar  schools,  99 — German  or 
French  in  high  schools,  99.  GREEK,  grammatical  knowledge  not  an  end,  82 
—purpose  of  study,  83.  HISTORY,  aim  of  teaching,  164,  168,  169,  170— 
examinations  in,  for  college  entrance,  165.  LATIN,  purpose  of  study,  61,  62. 
MATHEMATICS,  discipline  of,  114.  MODERN  LANGUAGES,  educational  value 
of,  96.  NATURAL  HISTORY,  object  of,  in  lowest  grades,  139— nature  study 
in  primary  schools,  objects  of,  142— results  of  first  two  years'  work,  146. 
PHYSICS  AND  CHEMISTRY,  rediscovery  of  laws  not  the  aim,  118.  PHYSIOLOGY 
as  personal  help,  159.  PRODUCTIVE  ABILITY,  the  great  end  of  education  is  to 
create,  213.  ZOOLOGY  as  means  of  discipline,  intellectual  growth,  broad 
culture,  158. 

II.  BOOKS,  TEXT-BOOKS,  REFERENCE-BOOKS,  AND  MATERIALS. 

ARITHMETIC,  abuse  of  text-books,  108.  BOTANY,  text-books  in,  defec- 
tive in  certain  respects,  205.  ENGLISH,  Trench  "  On  the  Study  of  Words" 
recommended,  92.  GEOGRAPHY,  libraries  for,  217 — photographs  and  lan- 
tern slides,  218 — simply  memorizing  from  text-books  should  be  avoided, 
219— illustrative  material,  223,  224— maps,  213,  217— relief  maps,  219. 
GREEK,  recommendations  as  to  text-books,  77.  HISTORY,  text-books  used  in 
third  year,  164 — collection  of  reference-books,  165 — text-books,  dry  and 
lifeless  instruction  by,  167,  184— libraries  for  teaching,  184— text-books, 
188— criteria  of  a  good  text-book,  189— parallel  text-books:  sets  of  books, 
189 — material  for  reading:  school  libraries,  reference-books,  193 — historical 
novels,  194— wall-maps  and  atlases,  199.  LATIN,  Cato  Major,  63 — man- 
uals of  composition  discouraged,  63 — Gradatim,  Eutropius,  and  the  Viri 
Romas  recommended  as  easy  reading,  64 —Bucolics  not  recommended,  64 — 
Froude's  Caesar,  Forsyth's  Cicero,  Trollope's  Cicero,  Sellar's  Virgil,  and 
AVilkins's  Primer  of  Roman  Literature  recommended,  73.  NATURE  STUDY, 

VII 


VIII  ANALYTICAL     INDEX. 

materials,  143 — physical  science,  study  of  books  and  phenomena  compared, 
119.  PHYSICS  AND  CHEMISTRY,  one-half  time  to  text-book,  118 — chemistry 
and  physics,  study  of  text-books  without  laboratory  work  of  little  value, 
119— physics  and  chemistry,  more  abundant  material  for  former,  122— 
chemistry,  text-books  in,  137.  READING-BOOK  may  be  discarded  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  seventh  year,  89.  WEATHER-MAPS,  207.  ZOOLOGY,  text-books 
in,  defective  in  certain  respects,  205. 

III.  CLASS  EDUCATION. 

Seventh  Question :  ' '  Should  the  subject  be  treated  differently  for  pu- 
pils who  are  going  to  college,  for  those  who  are  going  to  a  scientific 
school,  and  for  those  who,  presumably,  are  going  to  neither  ?  " 

ANSWERED  UNANIMOUSLY  in  the  negative  by  all  the  conferences,  17. 
BAD  FOR  ALL  classes  of  pupils,  173.  ENGLISH  conference,  specific  answer 
to  seventh  question,  93.  HISTORY,  instruction  precisely  the  same  for  all 
pupils,  165,  167,  203.  MODERN  LANGUAGES,  conference  on,  98.  NATURAL 
HISTORY  conference,  differentiation  unwise,  141.  PHYSICS,  CHEMISTRY,  AND 
ASTRONOMY,  no  difference  in  treatment  for  those  not  going  to  college,  118. 

IV.  COLLEGES. 

AVERAGE  AGE  of  admission  lowered,  14.  ASTRONOMY  not  required, 
118.  C)LOSE  ARTICULATION  with  high  schools,  53.  ENGLISH,  requirements  in, 
should  be  made  uniform  in  kind,  93 — recommendations  for  admission,  93 — 
admission,  essays  to  be  on  the  main  subjects,  94 — English  should  be  a 
"final"  subject,  95.  GEOGRAPHY,  examinations  in,  for  admission,  234 — 
field-work  in  geography,  236.  GEOMETRY,  admission  to  solid  and  plane, 
116.  GREEK,  admission  sight  examinations,  80 — examinations  in  grammar 
upon  text,  80— Greek  composition,  81.  HISTORY,  examinations  for  en- 
trance, 165 — work  done  in  preparatory  school  taken  as  evidence,  165 — 
colleges,  relations  with  lower  schools,  167 — cram  for  entrance,  171 — 
"  Whatever  improves  the  schools  must  improve  the  college,"  174 — regular 
written  tests  accepted  as  evidence,  184 — a  "final"  subject,  185.  LATIN, 
standard  of  admission  raised  in  point  of  quality,  60 — translation  at  sight, 
74.  MODERN  LANGUAGES,  admission  to,  99,  102.  NATURAL  HISTORY,  en- 
trance and  final  examinations,  141 — superiority  of  laboratory  test  to 
written  examination,  140— natural  science  and  history,  habits  of  study 
painfully  acquired  by  students,  15.  PHYSICS  AND  CHEMISTRY  required,  118 
— admission,  laboratory  work  as  a  test,  118 — certificates  from  approved 
schools  the  ideal  method,  118. 

V.  CONCENTRATION  OF  STUDIES. 

ARITHMETIC  AND  PHYSICS,  109,  111 — mathematical  knowledge  necessary 
to  physics,  119.  BOTANY,  careful  examination  of,  specimens  best  secured 
by  careful  sketching,  152.  ENGLISH,  relation  of,  to  all  studies,  87— formal 
grammar  not  a  necessity  to  the  use  of  good  English,  89 — English,  history, 


ANALYTICAL     INDEX.  IX 

and  geography,  91— and  other  languages,  92— every  subject  should  help 
every  other,  16.  GEOGRAPHY,  relations  of  history  and  natural  sciences  to, 
205,  219— geography,  meteorology,  and  geology,  relations  of,  205,  206,  207^ 
208— relation  to  all  modes  of  expression,  219— geography  and  drawing,  220 
— elementary  geography  identical  with  elementary  science,  239.  GEOM- 
ETRY, drawing  and  modeling,  111— concrete  geometry,  relation  to  draw- 
ing, modeling,  and  arithmetic,  24.  GREEK,  geography,  history,  my- 
thology, antiquities,  80.  HISTORY,  intimately  connected  with  English, 
ancient  and  modern  languages,  topography,  political,  historical,  and  com- 
mercial geography,  and  the  drawing  of  historical  maps,  164— history  and 
civil  government,  165— history  and  English,  172,  195— inter-relation  of  sub- 
jects, 176— history  and  ethics,  180,  186— history  and  literature,  190,  193— 
history  and  geography,  199.  MODERN  LANGUAGES  and  English,  96.  NA- 
TURE STUDY  correlated  with  language,-  literature,  drawing,  and  all  other 
modes  of  expression,  139— natural  history,  careful,  drawings  and  good 
language  in,  140— nature  study,  coordination  with  modes  of  expression, 
144— relation  to  geography  and  arithmetic,  145— plant  study  related  to 
geography,  meteorology,  zoology,  anthropology,  143— nature  studies  the  best 
means  of  teaching  reading  and  writing,  221 — natural  science  as  means  of 
teaching  language,  240— natural  sciences,  geography  and  drawing,  49 — 
physical  science  introduced  by  the  study  of  geography,  240.  POLITICAL 
ECONOMY  related  to  U.  S.  history,  civil  government,  and  commercial  geog- 
raphy, 165.  SPELLING  learned  incidentally  in  combination  with  the  subject 
studied,  and  not  from  a  spelling-book,  88.  SUBJECTS,  interlacing  of,  24. 

VI.  COURSES  OF  STUDY. 

ALGEBRA,  systematic  study  of,  in  high  schools,  106— special  report  on, 
111.  ARITHMETIC,  course  to  be  abridged  and  enriched,  105— commercial 
arithmetic  discussed,  107.  BOTANY  preferred  to  zoology  in  high  schools, 
139 — botany  and  zoology,  suggestions  for  courses  of  study,  140 — plants, 
study  to  be  continued  throughout  the  year,  145 — botany,  course  of  study  in 
first  and  second  grades,  145 — third  and  fourth  grades,  146 — fifth  and  sixth 
grades,  148— seventh  and  eighth  grades,  150 — for  common  schools,  dis- 
cussion and  course  of  work,  151 — year  of  work  in,  should  be  continuous, 
153.  CHEMISTRY,  experiments  in,  127.  ENGLISH,  elementary  course  of 
study,  87,  88— formal  grammar,  88— English  in  high  schools,  90— rhetoric 
in  high  schools,  90 — English  language,  history  of,  not  recommended  for  high 
schools,  91 — phonetics,  91.  FRENCH  OR  GERMAN  in 'grammar  schools,  96 — 
modern  languages,  97 — German  or  French  in  grammar  schools,  99 — Ger- 
man and  French  in  high  schools,  99.  GEOGRAPHY,  order  of  subjects,  241 
— physical  geography,  arrangement  of  topics,  242 — physical  geography 
analyzed,  246— geographic  subjects,  natural  order  of,  209.  GEOMETRY, 
concrete,  in  grammar  schools,  106— demonstrative  geometry,  112.  GREEK, 
time  of  study,  77.  HISTORY,  subjects  included  in  an  eight  years'  course, 
162— courses  of  study  suggested,  162— oral  instruction  in  biography  and 
mythology,  164— uniform  programs  not  recommended,  167— time  to  begin: 


X  ANALYTICAL     INDEX. 

question  of  consecutive  study,  170 — topics  for  intensive  study,  177.  LATIN, 
age  of  beginning,  60,  61— time  of  study,  61.  PHYSICAL  SCIENCE,  natural 
phenomena,  study  of,  in  elementary  schools,  117 — in  elementary  schools, 
one  period  per  day,  117 — nature  studies,  one-quarter  of  the  time  in  high 
schools  given  to,  123 — natural  history  in  primary  schools  should  begin  in 
kindergarten  and  lowest  grades,  138,  139 — nature  studies  one  hour  per 
week  throughout  the  whole  course  below  high  school,  139 — one-fourth  of 
time  in  high  school  devoted  to,  141 — experiments  in  physics  in  high  schools, 
125 — chemistry  to  precede  physics,  200  hours  to  each,  117,  118 — minority 
report,  physics  before  chemistry,  121.  POLITICAL  ECONOMY  discussed,  181. 
PHYSIOLOGY  in  later  years  of  high  school  course,  138.  ZOOLOGY  for  sec- 
ondary schools,  154— dissection  should  be  postponed,  154. 

VII.  EXAMINATIONS. 

GREEK,  sight  examinations,  80 — examinations  in  grammar  upon  text- 
books, 80.  HISTORY,  purpose  of  examinations  in,  183.  NATURAL  HISTORY, 
entrance  and  final  examinations  for  college,  141.  ORAL  OR  WRITTEN,  120. 
TRANSLATIONS  at  sight,  62. 

VIII.  HIGH  SCHOOLS. 

ALGEBRA,  systematic  study  of,  in,  106.  BOTANY  preferred  to  zoology 
in,  139— morphology,  comparative,  in,  140— botany  and  zoology  suggestions 
for  courses  of  study,  140.  CHEMISTRY  to  precede  physics,  200  hours  to  each, 
117,  118 — physical  science,  secondary  education  that  ignores  the  study  of 
nature  highly  objectionable,  119 — minority  report,  physics  before  chem- 
istry, 120 — experiments  in  physics,  125 — experiments  in  chemistry,  127— 
nature  studies,  one-quarter  of  the  time  to,  123— three-fifths  of  the  time 
employed  in  laboratory  work,  139 — one-fourth  of  the  time  devoted  to,  141. 
ENGLISH,  90 — rhetoric,  90.  HISTORY,  course  of  study,  163 — topics  for  in- 
tensive study,  163.  METEOROLOGY,  high  school  course  in,  231.  MODERN 
LANGUAGES,  97.  PHYSIOLOGY  in  later  years  of  high  school  course,  138. 
POLITICAL  ECONOMY,  no  formal  instruction  in,  165.  No  PREPARATION  for 
high  school  in  botany,  zoology,  chemistry,  physics,  and  mathematics,  out- 
side of  arithmetic,  15.  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS  do  not  exist  for  college  prepa- 
ration, 51.  ZOOLOGY,  coursToTstudy  in,  154— time  for  study,  154. 

IX.  LABORATORY  AND  FIELD-WORK. 

CHEMISTRY,  experiments  in,  127 — physics  and  chemistry,  one-half  time 
to  laboratory  work,  118— importance  of  laboratory  work  :  loose  work  harm- 
ful, 119 — value  of  keeping  records,  119— physical  experiments  in  elementary 
schools,  116 — physics  and  chemistry,  more  abundant  material  for  former, 
122— experiments  in  physics  in  high  school,  125.  Civics,  .field  studies 
in,  181.  GEOGRAPHY,  excursions,  212 — materials  for,  215.  GEOLOGICAL 
field-work,  223.  HISTORY,  as  a  laboratory  science,  169— field  excursions, 
181,  198.  NATURE  STUDIES,  three-fifths  of  time  employed  in  laboratory 


ANALYTICAL     INDEX.  XI 

work,  139— materials,  143 — natural  science  and  geography,  field-work,  59 
— natural  history  must  consist  largely  of  laboratory  work,  139 — laboratory 
tests,  superiority  of,  over  written  examinations,  140. 

X.  METHODS  OF  TEACHING. 

ARITHMETIC,  radical  change  in  the  teaching  of,  23,  105 — metric  system 
to  be  taught  by  actual  measurements,  105 — method  of  teaching,  should  be, 
throughout,  objective,  105 — text-books  subordinate  to  the  living  teacher, 
105— rules  should  be  taught  inductively  at  the  end  of  the  subject,  105. 
ASTRONOMY  by  observation,  118.  ENGLISH,  elementary  study,  87— composi- 
tion writing  criticised,  88 — bad  English,  correction  of,  not  recommended, 
94.  GERMAN  AND  FRENCH,  methods  of  teaching,  translation  at  sight,  100 — 
modern  languages,  method  of  instruction,  100,  101,  102.  GEOGRAPHY, 
methods  of  presentation,  216 — topical  recitation,  219— methods  in  lowest 
grades,  220— map  drawing,  221— geography,  methods  in  grammar  grades, 
222.  GEOMETRY,  demonstrative,  113— oral  exercises  in,  24— in  grammar 
grades,  110.  GREEK,  inductive  method  criticised,  82 — translation  at  sight, 
83 — first  translation  in  the  order  of  the  original,  84 — translation  at  sight,  19, 
62.  HISTORY,  topical  method  recommended,  164— lectures,  188 — written 
work  in,  194 — debates  as  a  means  of  teaching,  198— illustrative  methods, 
pictures,  197— devices  for  teaching,  191 — better  omit,  than  teach  in  the 
old-fashioned  way,  189— historical  teaching,  methods  of,  185.  LATIN,  com- 
position limited  to  text  read,  63— sounds,  66,  67 — reading  aloud,  68— under- 
standing at  sight,  71 — caution  as  to  inductive  method,  75.  METEOROLOGY, 
227.  NATURAL  HISTORY,  observational  study  with  specimens  in  the  hands 
of  each  pupil,  141 — children  must  study  the  plant  as  a  whole,  and  as  a  liv- 
ing organism,  142,  143— nature  study,  143— guide  to,  144.  PHYSICS  AND 
CHEMISTRY,  re-discovery  of  laws  not  the  aim,  118— scientific  method  im- 
portant, 119.  PHYSIOGRAPHY,  methods  in,  223. 

XI.  PRINCIPLES  OF  TEACHING. 

BOTANY  for  primary  schools,  central  thought,  care  and  protection,  145. 
ENGLISH,  purpose  of,  87.  FRENCH  AND  GERMAN,  reason  for  introducing,  into 
grammar  schools,  96.  GEOGRAPHY,  general  elementary,  applied,  physical 
geography  and  physiography,  meteorology,  geology,  204-209 — physiog- 
raphy defined,  206 — geography,  order  of  observational  and  representative, 
descriptive,  and  rational,  211-214— as  mental  discipline,  214.  GREEK 
COMPOSITION,  79— Homer,  78.  HISTORY,  175— intensive  study  of  eight 
years'  course,  176— glib  recitations  devoid  of  thought,  190.  LATIN,  quality 
versus  quantity,  62— cramming  mode  useless,  62— writing  of,  62— undue 
prominence  of  rules,  65.  YOUNG  CHILDREN  cannot  generalize,  143. 

XII.  RELATIVE  VALUES  OF  STUDIES. 

CHEMISTRY  to  precede  physics,  117.  GEOGRAPHY,  relations  of,  204— 
physiography,  objections  to  the  term  in  minority  report,  244.  GREEK,  Latin 


XII  ANALYTICAL     INDEX. 

should  precede,  77.  HISTORY,  relative  value,  168.  PHYSICAL  SCIENCE, 
secondary  education  that  ignores  the  study  of  nature  highly  objectionable, 
119 — relations  of  science,  history,  and  geography  to  Latin,  Greek,  and 
mathematics,  13.  PHYSIOLOGY,  relation  to  other  studies,  158. 

XIII.  SUPERVISION. 

PHYSICAL  SCIENCE,  special  teachers  of,  117 — special  science  superin- 
tendents, 119.  SUPERINTENDENTS  and  principals  should  be  teachers  of 
teachers,  54. 

XIV.  TEACHERS,     TRAINING     OF     TEACHERS,     AND    NORMAL 

SCHOOLS. 

ENGLISH,  special  teachers  of,  90.  GEOGRAPHY,  selection  of  new  teachers, 
217.  GREEK,  poor  teaching  of,  78.  HISTORY,  teachers  of,  164 — teaching 
by  rote  from  text-books  in  grammar  schools,  185— training  of  teachers,  186, 
187 — special  teachers,  187.  LATIN,  teaching  of,  by  untrained  teachers,  64. 
MODERN  LANGUAGES,  preparation  of  teachers,  103.  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  and 
colleges  should  supply  better  trained  teachers,  18— normal  schools  should 
be  better  equipped,  54.  PHYSICAL  SCIENCE,  necessity  for  intelligent  teachers 
in,  119.  PHYSIOLOGY,  qualifications  of  teachers  for,  161.  SUMMER  SCHOOLS, 
54.  TRAINED  TEACHERS  necessary,  18 — teachers  in  elementary  schools  ill- 
prepared,  25  —  need  of  more  highly  trained  teachers,  53  —  attitude  of 
teacher's  mind,  70— colleges  and  universities  should  assist  in  training 
teachers,  54— universities  should  establish  training  courses,  187. 


REPORT   OF  THE   COMMITTEE   OF   TEN 


EEPOKT   OF   THE   COMMITTEE   OF  TEN. 

To  THE  NATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  EDUCATION  : 

The  Committee  of  Ten  appointed  at  the  meeting  of  the 
National  Educational  Association  at  Saratoga  on  the  9th  of 
July,  1892,  have  the  honor  to  present  the  following  report :  — 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Na^onal  Council  of  Education  in  1891, 
a  Committee  appointed  at  a  previous  meeting  made  a  valuable 
report  through  their  Chairman,  Mr.  James  H.  Baker,  then 
Principal  of  the  Denver  High  School,  ^n  the  general  subject  of 
uniformity  in  school  programmes  and  in  requirements  for 
admission  to  college.)  The  Committee  was  continued,  and 
was  authorized  to  procure  a  Conference  on  the  subject  of  uni- 
formity during  the  meeting  of  the  National  Council  in  1892, 
the  Conference  to  consist  of  representatives  of  leading  colleges 
and  secondary  schools  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  This 
Conference  was  duly  summoned,  and  held  meetings  at  Saratoga 
on  July  7th,  8th,  and  9th,  1892.  There  were  present  between 
twenty  and  thirty  delegates.  Their  discussions  took  a  wide 
range,  but  resulted  in  the  following  specific  recommendations, 
which  the  Conference  sent  to  the  National  Council  of  Education 
then  in  session. 

1.  That  it  is  expedient  to  hold  a  conference  of  schopl  and 
college  teachers  of  each  principal  subject  which  enters  into  the 
programmes   of  secondary  schools  in  the  United  States  and 
into  the  requirements  for  admission  to  college  —  as,  for  example, 
of  Latin,  of  geometry,  or  of  American  history — each  confer- 
ence to  consider  the  proper  limits    of  its  subject,   the  best 
niethods_  of  instruction ,  the  most  desirable  aTl^tmentof_time 
for  the    subject,  and  the  best  methods  of  testing  the  pupils' 
attainmeiits_Jherein,  and  each  conference   to  represent  fairly 
the  different  parts  of  the  country. 

2.  That  a  Committee  be  appointed  with  authority  to  select 
the  members  of  these  conferences  and  to  arrange  their  meetings, 
',he  results^  of  all  the  conferences  to  be  reported  to  this  Com- 
mittee for  such  action  as  it  may  deem  appropriate,  and  to  form 


4  THE    COMMITTEE    OF   TEN. 

the  basis  of  a  report  to  be  presented  to  the  Council  by  this 
Committee. 

3.    That  this  Committee  consist  of  the  following  gentlemen  : 

CHARLES  W.  ELIOT,  President  of  Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass., 

Chairman. 

WILLIAM  T.  HARRIS,  Commissioner  of  Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 
JAMES  B.  ANGELL,  President  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor, 

Mich. 
JOHN  TETLOW,  Head  Master  of  the  Girls1  High  School  and  the  Girls' 

Latin  School,  Boston,  Mass. 

JAMES  M.  TAYLOR,  President  of  Vassar' College,  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 
OSCAR  D.  ROBINSON,  Principal  of  the  High  School,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
JAMES  II.  BAKER,  President  of  the  University  of  Colorado,  Boulder,  Colo. 
RICHARD  H.  JESSE,  President  of  the  University  of  Missouri,  Columbia,  Mo. 
JAMES  C.  MACKENZIE,  Head  Master  of  the  Lawrenceville  School,  Law- 

renceville,  N.  J. 
HENRY  C.  KING,  Professor  in  Oberlin  College,  Oberlin,  Ohio. 

These  recommendations  of  the  Conference  were  adopted  by 
the  National  Council  of  Education  on  the  9th  of  July  ,  and  the 
Council  communicated  the  recommendations  to  the  Directors  ox 
the  National  Educational  Association,  with  the  further  recom- 
mendation that  an  appropriation  not  exceeding  $2500  be  made 
by  the  Association  towards  the  expenses  of  these  conferences. 
On  the  12th  of  July  the  Directors  adopted  a  series  of  resolutions 
under  which  a  sum  not  exceeding  $2500  was  made  available 
for  this  undertaking  during  the  academic  year  1892—93. 

Every  gentleman  named  on  the  above  Committee  of  Ten 
accepted  his  appointment ;  and  the  Committee  met,  with  every 
member  present,  at  Columbia  College,  New  York  City,  from 
the  9th  to  the  llth  of  November,  1892,  inclusive. 

In  preparation  for  this  meeting,  a  table  had  beon  prepared 
by  means  of  a  prolonged  correspondence  with  the  principals  of 
selected  secondary  schools  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
which  showed  the  subjects  taught  in  forty  leading  secondary 
schools  in  the  United  States,  and  the  total  number  of  recita- 
tions, or  exercises,  allotted  to  each  subject.  Nearly  two  hundred 
schools  were  applied  to  for  this  information ;  but  it  did  not 
prove  practicable  to  obtain  within  three  months  verified  state- 
jments  from  more  than  forty  schools.  This  table  proved  con- 
|clusively,  first,  that  the  totaJ  number  of  subjects  taught  in  theso 


THE    NINE    CONFERENCES.  5 

secondary  schools  was  nearly  forty,  thirteen  of  which,  however, 
were  found  in  only  a  few  schools  ;  secondly,  that  many  of  these 
subjects  were  taught  for  such  short  periods  that  little  training 
could  be  derived  from  them  ;  and  thirdly,  that  the  time  allotted 
to  the  same  subject  in  the  different  schools  varied  widely. 
Even  for  the  older  subjects,  like  Latin  and  algebra,  there 
appeared  to  be  a  wide  diversity  of  practice  with  regard  to  the 
time  allotted  to  them.  Since  this  table  was  comparative  in  its 
nature, — that  is,  permitted  comparisons  to  be  made  between 
different  schools, — and  could  be  easily  misunderstood  and 
misapplied  by  persons  who  had  small  acquaintance  with  school 
programmes,  it  was  treated  as  a  -  confidential  document;  and 
was  issued  at  first  only  to  the  members  of  the  Committee  of 
Ten  and  the  principals  of  the  schools  mentioned  in  the  table. 
Later,  it  was  sent  —  still  as  a  confidential  paper — to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  several  conferences  organized  by  the  Committee  of 
Ten. 

The  Committee  of  Ten,  after  a  preliminary  discussion  on 
November  9th,  decided  on  November  10th  to  organize  confer- 
ences on  the  following  subjects: —  1.  Latin;  2.  Greek; 
3.  English;  4.  Other  Modern  Languages;  5.  Mathematics; 
6.  Physics,  Astronomy,  and  Chemistry;  7.  Natural  History 
(Biology,  including  Botany,  Zoology,  and  Physiology)  ; 

8.  History,    Civil     Government,    and     Political    Economy; 

9.  Geography  (Physical  Geography,  Geology,  and  Meteorol- 
ogy).    They  also  decided  that  each  Conference  should  consist 
of  ten  members.     They  then  proceeded  to  select  the  members 
of  each  of  these  Conferences,  having  regard  in   the  selection 
to   the  scholarship  and  experience  of  the  gentlemen  named, 
to  the  fair  division  of  the  members  between  colleges  on  the 
one  hand  and  schools  on  the  other,  and  to  the  proper  geo- 
graphical distribution  of  the  total  membership.     After  select- 
ing ninety  members  for  the  nine  Conferences,  the  Committee 
decided  on  an  additional  number  of  names  to  be  used  as  sub- 
stitutes for  persons  originally  chosen  who  should  decline   to 
serve,  from  two  to    four  substitutes   being  selected  for   each 
Conference.     In  the  selection    of  substitutes  the   Committee 
found  it  difficult  to  regard  the  geographical  distribution   of 
the  persons  selected  with  as  much  strictness  as  in  the  original 


6  QUESTIONS    FOR    THE    CONFERENCES. 

selection ;  and,  accordingly,  when  it  became  necessary  to  call 
on  a  considerable  number  of  substitutes,  the  accurate  geo- 
graphical distribution  of  membership  was  somewhat  impaired. 
The  lists  of  the  members  of  the  several  Conferences  were  finally 
adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  on  November  llth; 
and  the  Chairman  and  Secretary  of  the  Committee  were  then 
empowered  to  fill  any  vacancies  which  might  occur. 

The  Committee  next  adopted  the  following  list  of  questions 
as  a  guide  for  the  discussions  of  all  the  Conferences,  and 
directed  that  the  Conferences  be  called  together  on  the  28th  of 
December :  — 

1.  In  the  school  course  of  study  extending  approximately  from  the 
age  of  six  years  to  eighteen  years  —  a  course  including  the  periods  of 
both  elementary  and  secondary  instruction  —  at  what  age  should  the 
study  which  is  the  subject  of  the  Conference  be  first  introduced? 

2.  After  it  is  introduced,  how  many  hours  a  week  for  how  many 
years  should  be  devoted  to  it? 

3.  How  many  hours  a  week  for  how  many  years  should  be  devoted 
to  it  during  the  last  four  years  of  the  complete  course  ;  that  is,  during 
the  ordinary  high  school  period? 

4.  What  topics,  or  parts,  of  the  subject  may  reasonably  be  covered 
during  the  whole  course? 

5.  What  topics,  or  parts,  of  the  subject  may  best  be  reserved  for 
the  last  four  years  ? 

G.  In  what  form  and  to  what  extent  should  the  subject  enter  into 
college  requirements  for  admission  ?  Such  questions  as  the  sufficiency 
of  translation  at  sight  as  a  test  of  knowledge  of  a  language,  or  the 
superiority  of  a  laboratory  examination  in  a  scientific  subject  to  a 
written  examination  on  a  text-book,  are  intended  to  be  suggested  under 
this  head  by  the  phrase  "in  what  form." 

7.  Should  the  subject  be  treated  differently  for  pupils  who  are 
going  to  college,  for  those  who  are  going  to  a  scientific  school,  and 
for  those  who,  presumably,  are  going  to  neither? 

8.  At  what  stage  should  this  differentiation  begin,  if  any  be  recom- 
mended? 

9.  Can  any  description  be  given  of  the  best  method  of  teaching  this 
subject  throughout  the  school  course  ? 

10.  Can  any  description  be  given  of  the  best  mode  of  testing  attair 
ments  in  this  subject  at  college  admission  examinations? 


COMPOSITION    OF    THE    CONFERENCES.  7 

11.  For  those  cases  in  which  colleges  and  universities  permit  a 
division  of  the  admission  examination  into  a  preliminary  and  a  final 
examination,  separated  by  at  least  a  year,  can  the  best  limit  between 
the  preliminary  and  final  examinations  be  approximately  defined? 

The  Committee  further  voted  that  it  was  expedient  that  the 
Conferences  on  Latin  and  Greek  meet  at  the  same  place. 
Finally,  all  further  questions  of  detail  with  regard  to  the 
calling  and  the  instruction  of  the  Conferences  were  referred 
to  the  Chairman  with  full  power. 

During  the  ensuing  six  weeks,  the  composition  of  the  nine 
Conferences  was  determined  in  accordance  with  the  measures 
adopted  by  the  Committee  of  Ten.  Seventy  persons  originally 
selected  by  the  Committee  accepted  the  invitation  of  the 
Comnlittee,  and  sixty-nine  of  these  persons  were  present  at 
the  meetings  of  their  respective  Conferences  on  the  28th  of 
December.  Twenty  substitutes  accepted  service,  of  whom 
twelve  were  persons  selected  by  the  Committee  of  Ten,  and 
eight  were  selected  under  the  authority  granted  to  the  Chair- 
man and  Secretary  of  the  Committee  in  emergencies.  One  of 
these  eight  gentlemen  was  selected  by  a  Conference  at  its  first 
meeting.  Two  gentlemen  who  accepted  service  —  one  of  the 
original  members  and  one  substitute  —  absented  themselves 
from  the  meetings  of  their  respective  Conferences  without 
giving  any  notice  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ten, 
who  was  therefore  unable  to  fill  their  places.  With  these  two 
exceptions,  all  the  Conferences  met  on  December  28th  with 
full  membership. 

The  places  of  meeting  wrere  as  follows  :  —  for  the  Latin  and 
Greek  Conferences,  the  University  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor, 
Mich.;  for  the  English  Conference,  Vassar  College,  Pough- 
keepsie,  N.  Y».  ;  for  the  Conference  on  Other  Modern  Lan- 
guages, the  Bureau  of  Education,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  for 
the  Conference  on  Mathematics,  Harvard  University,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass. ;  for  the  Conferences  on  Physics,  Astronomy,  and 
Chemistry,  and  on  Natural  History,  the  University  of  Chicago, 
Chicago,  111. ;  for  the  Conference  on  History,  Civil  Govern- 
ment, and  Political  Economy,  the  University  of  Wisconsin, 
Madison,  Wis.  ;  for  the  Conference  on  Geography,  the  Cook 


O  MEMBERS    OF    THE    CONFERENCES. 

County  Normal  School,  Englewood,  111.  The  Committee  of 
Ten  and  all  the  Conferences  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  the  several 
institutions  at  which  they  met,  and  the  members  were  made 
welcome  at  private  houses  during  the  sessions.  Through  the 
exertions  of  Mr.  N.  A.  Calkins,  Chairman  of  the  Trustees  of 
the  National  Educational  Association,  important  reductions  of 
railroad  fares  were  procured  for  some  members  of  the  Commit- 
tee and  of  the  Conferences  ;  but  the  reductions  obtainable  were 
less  numerous  and  considerable  than  the  National  Council  of 
Education  had  hoped.  In  filling  a  few  vacancies  of  which 
notice  was  received  shortly  before  December  28th,  it  was 
necessary  to  regard  as  one  qualification  nearness  of  residence 
to  the  appointed  places  of  meeting ;  but  on  the  whole  the 
weight  and  effectiveness  of  the  several  Conferences  were  not 
impaired  by  the  necessary  replacement  of  twenty  of  the  mem- 
bers originally  selected  by  the  Committee  of  Ten.  The  list  of 
the  members  of  the  Conferences  on  the  28th  of  December  was 
as  follows  :  — 

1.  LATIN. 

Professor  CHARLES  E.  BENNETT,  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 
FREDERICK  L.  BLISS,  Principal  of  the  Detroit  High  School,  Detroit,  Mich. 
JNO.  T.  BUCHANAN,  Principal  of  the  Kansas  City  High  School,  Kansas 

City,  Mo. 
WILLIAM  .C.  COLLAR,  Head  Master  of  the  Roxbury  Latin   School,  Rox- 

bury,  Mass. 

JOHN  S.  CROMBIE,  Principal  of  the  Adelphi  Academy,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Professor  JAMES  H.  DILLARD,  Tulane  University,  New  Orleans,  La. 
Rev.    WILLIAM    GALLAGHER,    Principal   of    Williston    Seminary,   East- 

hampton,  Mass. 

Professor  WILLIAM  G.  HALE,  University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111. 
Professor  JOHN  C.  ROLFE,  University  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 
JULIUS  SACHS,  Principal  of  the  Collegiate  Institute  for  Boys,  38  West  59th 

Street,  New  York  City. 

2.  GREEK. 

E.  W.  COY,  Principal  of  the  Hughes  High  School,  Cincinnati,  O. 
Professor  MARTIN  L.  D'OoGE,  University  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 
A.  F.  FLEET,  Superintendent  of  the  Missouri  Military  Academy,  Mexico, 

Mo. 
ASHLEY  D.  HURT,  Head  Master  of.  the  High  School,  Tulane  University, 

New  Orleans,  La. 


MEMBERS    OF    THE    CONFERENCES.  9 

ROBERT  D.  KEEP,  Principal  of  the  Free  Academy,  Norwich,  Conn. 
Professor  ABBY  LEACH,  Vassar  College,  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 
CLIFFORD  H.  MOORE,  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass. 
WILLIAM  H.  SMILEY,  Principal  of  the  High  School,  Denver,  Colo. 
Professor  CHARLES  F.  SMITH,  Vanderbilt  University.  Nashville,  Tenn. 
Professor  BENJAMIN  I.  WHEELER,  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

3.   ENGLISH. 

Professor  EDWARD  A.  ALLEN,  University  of  Missouri,  Columbia,  Mo. 
F.  A.  BARBOUR,  Michigan  State  Normal  School,  Ypsilanti,  Mich. 
Professor  FRANK  A.  BLACKBURN,  University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111. 
Professor  CORNELIUS  B.   BRADLEY,   University  of   California,  Berkeley, 

Calif. 

Professor  FRANCIS  B.  GUMMERE,  Haverford  College,  Pa. 
Professor  EDWARD  E.  HALE,  Jr.,  University  of  Iowa,  Iowa  City,  Iowa. 
Professor  GEORGE  L.  KITTREDGE,  Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass, 
CHARLES  L.  Loos,  Jr.,  High  School,  Dayton,  Ohio. 
W.  H.  MAXWELL,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
SAMUEL  TIIURBER,  Master  in  the  Girls'  High  School,  Boston,  Mass. 

4.   OTHER  MODERN  LANGUAGES. 

Professor  JOSEPH  L.  ARMSTRONG,  Trinity  College,  Durham,  N.  C. 

THOMAS  B.  BRONSON,  Lawrenceville  School,  Lawrenceville,  N.  J. 

Professor  ALPHONSE  N.  VAN  DAELL,   Massachusetts   Institute   of  Tech- 
nology, Boston,  Mass. 

CHARLES  II .  GRANDGENT,  Director  of  Modern  Language  Instruction  in  the 
Public  Schools,  Boston,  Mass. 

Professor  CHARLES  HARRIS,  Oberlin  College,  Oberlin,  Ohio. 

WILLIAM  T.  PECK,  High  School,  Providence,  R.  I. 

Professor  SYLVESTER  PRIMER,  University  of  Texas,  Austin,  Texas. 

JOHN  J.  SCHOBINGER,  Principal  of  a  Private  School  for  Boys,  Chicago,  111. 

ISIDORE  H.  B.  SPIERS,  William  Penn  Charter  School,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Professor  WALTER  D.  TOY,  University  of  North  Carolina,  Chapel  Hill, 
N.  C. 

5.  MATHEMATICS. 

Professor  WILLIAM  E.  BYERLY,  Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Professor  FLORIAN  CAJORI,  Colorado  College,  Colorado  Springs,  Colo. 
ARTHUR  H.  CUTLER,  Principal  of  a  Private  School  for  Boys,  New  York 

City. 

Professor  HENRY  B.  FINE,  College  of  New  Jersey,  Princeton,  N.  J. 
W.  A.  GREESON,  Principal  of  the  High  School,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 
ANDREW  INGRAHAM,  Swain  Free  School,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 
Professor  SIMON  NEWCOMB,  Johns  Hopkins  University,  and  Washington, 

D.  C. 


10  MEMBERS    OF    THE    CONFERENCES. 

Professor  GEORGE  D.  OLDS,  Amherst  College,  Amherst,  Mass. 
JAMES  L.  PATTERSON,  Lawrenceville  School,  Lawrenceville,  N.  J. 
Professor  T.  H.  S AFFORD,  Williams  College,  Williamstown,  Mass. 

6.   PHYSICS,  ASTRONOMY,  AND  CHEMISTRY. 

Professor  BROWN  AYERS,  Tulane  University,  New  Orleans,  La. 

IRVING  W.  FAY,  The  Belmont  School,  Belmont,  Calif. 

ALFRED  P.  GAGE,  English  High  School,  Boston,  Mass. 

GEORGE  WARREN  KRALL,  Manual  Training  School,  Washington  Uni- 
versity, St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Professor  WILLIAM  W.  PAYNE,  Carleton  College,  Northfield,  Minn. 

WILLIAM  MCPHERSON,  Jr,,  2901  Collinwood  Avenue,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Professor  IRA  REMSEN,  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Professor  JAMES  H.  SHEPARD,  South  Dakota  Agricultural  College,  Brook- 
ings,  So.  Dak.  ' 

Professor  WILLIAM  J.  WAGGENER,  University  of  Colorado,  Boulder,  Colo. 

GEORGE  R.  WHITE,  Phillips  Exeter  Academy,  Exeter,  N.  H. 

7.   NATURAL  HISTORY  (BIOLOGY,  INCLUDING  BOTANY,  ZOOLOGY, 
AND  PHYSIOLOGY). 

Professor  CHARLES  E.  BESSEY,  University  of  Nebraska,  Lincoln,  Neb. 
ARTHUR  C.  BOYDEN,  Normal  School,  Bridge  water,  Mass.         < 
Professor  SAMUEL  F.  CLARKE,  Williams  College,  Williamstown,  Mass. 
Professor  DOUGLAS  H.  CAMPBELL,  Leland  Stanford  Jr.  University,  Palo 

Alto,  Calif. 

President  JOHN  M.  COULTER,  Indiana  University,  Bloomington,  Ind. 
Principal  S.  A.  MERRITT,  Helena,  Montana. 
W.  B.  POWELL,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  Washington,  D.  C. 
CHARLES  B.  SCOTT,  High  School,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

Professor  ALBERT  H.  TUTTLE,  University  of  Virginia,  Charlottesville,  Va. 
O.  S.  WESTCOTT,  Principal  of  the  North  Division  High  School,  Chicago,  111. 

8.   HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

President  CHARLES  K.  ADAMS,  University  of  Wisconsin,  Madison,  Wis. 
Professor  EDWARD  G.  BOURNE,  Adelbert  College,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
ABRAM  BROWN,  Principal  of  the  Central  High  School,  Columbus,  Ohio. 
Professor  A.  B.  HART,  Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
RAY  GREENE  HULING,  Principal  of  the  High  School,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 
Professor  JESSE  MACY,  Iowa  College,  Grinnell,  Iowa. 
Professor  JAMES  HARVEY  ROBINSON,   University  of  Pennsylvania,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Professor  WILLIAM  A.  SCOTT,  University  of  Wisconsin,  Madison,  Wis. 
HENRY  P.  WARREN,  Head  Master  of  the  Albany  Academy,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
Professor  WOODROW  WILSON,  College  of  New  Jersey,  Princeton,  N.  J. 


COMPOSITION    OF    THE    CONFERENCES.  11 

9.  GEOGRAPHY  (PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY,  GEOLOGY,  AND 
METEOROLOGY). 

Professor  THOMAS  C.  CIIAMBERLIN,  University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111. 
Professor  GEORGE  L.  COLLIE,  Beloit  College,  Beloit,  Wis. 
Professor  )V.  M.  D^VTS.  Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
DELWIN  A.  HAMLIN,  Master  of  the  Rice  Training  School,  Boston,  Mass. 
Professor^Emvix  J.  HOUSTON,  Central  High  School,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Professor  MARKjV\L_-HAK&tNOTON,   The  Weather  Bureau,   Washington, 

D.  C. 

CHARLES  F.  KING,  Dearborn  School,  Boston,  Mass. 
FRANCIS   W.    PARKER,    Principal  of   the   Cook  County  Normal   School, 

Englewood,  111. 

G.  M.  PHILIPS,  Principal  of  the  State  Normal  School,  West  Chester,  Pa. 
Professor  ISRAEL  C.  RUSSELL,  University  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 

The  ninety  members  of  the  Conferences  were  divided  as 
follows,  —  forty-seven  were  in  the  service  of  colleges  or  univer- 
sities, forty-two  in  the  service  of  schools,  and  one  was  a 
government  official  formerly  in  the  service  of  a  university.  A 
considerable  number  of  the  college  men,  however,  had  also  had 
experience  in  schools.  Each  Conference,  in  accordance  with  a 
recommendation  of  the  Committee  of  Ten,  chose  its  own 
Chairman  and  Secretary ;  and  these  two  officers  prepared  the 
report  of  each  Conference.  Six  of  the  Chairmen  were  college 
men,  and  three  were  school  men  ;  while  of  the  Secretaries,  two 
were  college  men  and  seven  school  men.  The  Committee,  of 

o 

Ten  requested  that  the  reports  of  the  Conferences  should  be 
sent  to  their  Chairman  by  the  1st  of  April,  18(J3  —  three 
months  being  thus  allowed  for  the  preparation  of  the  reports. 
Seven  Conferences  substantially  conformed  to  this  request  of 
the  Committee ;  but  the  reports  from  the  Conferences  on 
Natural  History  and  Geography  were  delayed  until  the  second 
week  in  July.  The  Committee  of  Ten,  being  of  course  unable 
to  prepare  their  own  report  until  all  the  reports  of  the  December 
Conferences  had  been  received,  were  prevented  from  presenting 
their  report,  as  they  had  intended,  at  the  Education  Congress 
which  met  at  Chicago  July  27th-29th. 

All  the  Conferences  sat  for  three  days  ;  their  discussions 
were  frank,  earnest,  and  thorough  ;  but  in  every  Conference  an 
extraordinary  unity  of  opinion  was  arrived  at.  The  nine 
reports  are  characterized  by  an  amount,  of  agreement  which 


12  UNANIMITY    OF    THE    CONFERENCES. 

quite  surpasses  the  most  sanguine  anticipations.  Only  two 
Conferences  present  minority  reports,  namely,  the  Conference 
on  Physics,  Astronomy,  and  Chemistry,  and  the  Conference 
on  Geography ;  and  in  the  first  case,  the  dissenting  opinions 
touch  only  two  points  in  the  report  of  the  majority,  one  of 
which  is  unimportant.  In  the  great  majority  of  matters  brought 
before  each  Conference,  the  decision  of  the  Conference  was 
unanimous.  When  one  considers  the  different  localities,  insti- 
tutions, professional  experiences,  and  personalities  represented 
in  each  of  the  Conferences,  the  unanimity  developed  is  very 
striking,  and  should  carry  great  weight. 

Before  the  1st  of  October,  1893,  the  reports  of  the  Confer- 
ences had  all  been  printed,  after  revision  in  proof  by  the  chair- 
men of  the  Conferences  respectively,  and  had  been  distributed 
to  the  members  of  the  Committee  of  Ten,  together  with  a 
preliminary  draft  of  a  report  for  the  Committee.  With  the 
aid  of  comments  and  suggestions  received  from  members  of  the 
Committee  a  second  draft  of  this  report  was  made  ready  in 
print  to  serve  as  the  ground- work  of  the  deliberations  of  the 
Committee  at  their  final  meeting.  This  meeting  was  held  at 
Columbia  College  from  the  8th  to  the  llth  of  November,  1893, 
inclusive,  every  member  being  present  except  Professor  King, 
who  is  spending  the  current  academic  year  in  Europe.  The 
points  of  view  and  the  fields  of  work  of  the  different  members 
of  the  Committee  being  fortunately  various,  the  discussions  at 
this  prolonged  meeting  were  vigorous  and  comprehensive,  and 
resulted  in  a  thorough  revision  of  the  preliminary  report.  This 
third  revise  having  been  submitted  to  the  members  of  the 
Committee,  a  cordial  agreement  on  both  the  form  and  the  sub- 
stance of  the  present  report,  with  the  exceptions  stated  in  the 
minority  report  of  President  Baker,  was  arrived  at  after  a 
correspondence  which  extended  over  three  weeks.  The  report 
itself  embodies  the  numerous  votes  and  resolutions  adopted  by 
the  Committee. 

Professor  King,  having  received  in  Europe  the  Conference 
reports,  the  two  preliminary  drafts  of  the  Committee's  report, 
and  the  third  revise,  desired  to  have  his  name  signed  to  the 
final  report. 


NUMBER    AND    VARIETY    OF    CHANGES    UKGED.  13 

The  Council  and  the  public  will  doubtless  be  impressed,  at 
first  sight,  with  the  great  number  and  variety  of  important 
changes  urged  by  the  Conferences ;  but  on  a  careful  reading  of 
the  appended  reports  it  will  appear  that  the  spirit  of  the  Con- 
ferences was  distinctly  consj^vjiive  and  moderate,  although 
many  of  their  recommendations  are  of  a  radical  nature.  The 
Conferences  which  found  their  tasks  the  most  difficult  were  the 
Conferences  on  Physics,  Astronomy,  and  Chemistry ;  Natural 
History ;  History,  Civil  Government,  and  Political  Economy ; 
and  Geography  ;  and  these  four  Conferences  make  the  longest 
and  most  elaborate  reports,  for  the  reason  that  these  subjects 
are  to-day  more  imperfectly  dealt  with  in  primary  and  second- 
ary schools  than  are  the  subjects  of  the  first  five  Conferences. 
The  experts  who  met  to  confer  together  concerning  the  teaching 
of  the  last  four  subjects  in  the  list  of  Conferences  all  felt  the 
-  need  of  setting  forth  in  an  ample  way  what  ought  to  be  taught, 
in  what  order,  and  by  what  method.  They  ardently  desired  to 
have  their  respective  subjects  made  equal  to  Latin,  Greek,  and 
Mathematics  in  weight  and  influence  in  the  schools ;  but  they 
knew  that  educational  tradition  was  adverse  to  this  desire,  and 
that  many  teachers  and  directors  of  education  felt  no  confi- 
dence in  these  subjects  as  disciplinary  material.  Hence  the 
length  and  elaboration  of  these  reports.  In  less  degree,  the 
Conferences  on  English  and  Other  Modern  Languages  felt  the 
same  difficulties,  these  subjects  being  relatively  new  as  sub- 
stantial elements  in  school  programmes. 

The  Committee  of  Ten  requested  the  Conferences  to  make 
their  reports  and  recommendations  as  specific  as  possible. 
This  request  was  generally  complied  with  ;  but,  very  naturally, 
the  reports  and  recommendations  are  more  specific  concerning 
the  selection  of  topics  in  each  subject,  the  best  methods  of 
instruction,  and  the  desirable  appliances  or  apparatus,  than 
concerning  the  allotment  of  time  to  each  subject.  The  allot- 
ment of  time  is  a  very  important  matter  of  administrative  detail ; 
but  it  presents  great  difficulties,  requires  a  comprehensive  sur- 
vey of  the  comparative  claims  of  many  subjects,  and  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  is  necessarily  affected  by  the  various  local 
conditions  and  historical  developments.  Nevertheless,  there 
will  be  found  in  the  Conference  reports  recommendations  of  a 


14  TIME- ALLOTMENT  BY  SUBJECT. 

fundamental  and  far-reaching  character  concerning  the  allotment 
of  programme  time  to  each  subject. 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  every  Conference  would 
have  demanded  for  its  subject  a  larger  proportion  of  time  than 
is  now  commonly  assigned  to  it  in  primary  and  secondary 
schools ;  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  reports  are  noteworthy 
for  their  moderation  in  this  respect,  —  especially  the  reports 
on  the  old  and  well-established  subjects.  The  Latin  Conference 
declares  that,  —  "In  view  of  the  just  demand  for  more  and 
better  work  in  several  other  subjects  of  the  preparatory  course, 
it  seemed  clear  to  the  Conference  that  no  increase  in  the 
quantity  of  the  preparation  in  Latin  should  be  asked  for." 
Among  the  votes  passed  by  the  Greek  Conference  will  be 
noticed  the  following  :  —  "  That  in  making  the  following 
recommendations,  this  Conference  desires  that  the  average  age 
,/at  which  pupils  now  enter  college  should  be  lowered  rather 
than  raised ;  and  the  Conference  urges  that  no  addition  be 
made  in  the  advanced  requirements  in  Greek  for  admission  to 
•  college."  The  Mathematical  Conference  recommends  that  the 
course  in  arithmetic  in  elementary  schools  should  be  abridged, 
and  recommends  only  a  moderate  assignment  of  time  to  algebra 
and  geometry.  The  Conference  on  Geography  says  of  the 
present  assignment  of  time  to  geography  in  primary  and 
md  secondary  .schools  that  "it  is  the  judgment  of  the 
Conference  that  too  much  time  is  given  to  the  subject  in 
proportion  to  the  results  secured.  It  is  not  their  judgment 
that  more  time  is  given  to  the  subject  than  it  merits,  but  that 
either  more  should  be  accomplished,  or  less  time  taken  to 
attain  it." 

Anyone  who  reads  these  nine  reports  consecutively  will  be 
struck  with  the  fact  that  all  these  bodies  of  experts  desire  to 
have  the  elements  of  their  several  subjects  taught  earlier  than 
they  now  are  ;  and  that  the  Conferences  on  all  the  subjects 
except  the  languages  desire  to  have  given  in  the  elementary 
schools  what  may  be  called  perspective  views,  or  broad  surveys, 
of  their  respective  subjects  —  expecting  that  in  later  years  of 
the  school  course  parts  of  these  same  subjects  will  be  taken  up 
with  more  amplitude  and  detail.  The  Conferences  on  Latin, 
Greek,  and  the  Modern  Languages  agree  in  desiring  to  have 


EAKLIER    INTRODUCTION    OF    SUBJECTS.  15 

the  study  of  foreign  languageabegin  at  a  much  ^arlier  age 
than  now,  —  theT^atnTConlerence  suggesting  by  a  reference 
European  usage  that  Latin  be  begun  from  three  to  five  yeai 
earlier  than  it  commonly  is  now.  The  Conference  on  Mathe- 
matics wish  to  have  given  in  elementary  schools  not  only  a 
general  survey  of  arithmetic,  but  also  the  elements  of  algebra, 
and  concrete  geometry  in  connection  with  drawing.  The 
Conference  on  Physics,  Chemistry,  and  Astronomy  urge  that 
nature  studies  should  constitute  an  important  part  of  the 
elementary  school  course  from  ^  the  very  beginning.  The 
Conference  on  Natural  History  wish  the  elements  of  botany 
and  zoology  to  be  taught  in  the  primary  schools.  The 
Conference  on  History  wish  the  systematic  study  of  history  to 
begin  as  early  as  the  tenth  year  of  age,  and  the  first  two  years 
of  study  to  be  devoted  to  mythology  and  to  biography  for  the 
.illustration  of  general  history  as  well  as  of  American  history. 
Finally,  the  Conference  on  Geography  recommend  that  the 
v'earlier  course  treat  broadly  of  the  earth,  its  environment  and 
inhabitants,  extending  freely  into  fields  which  in  later  years  of 
study  are  recognized  as  belonging  to  separate  sciences. 

In  thus  claiming  entrance  for  their  subjects  into  the  earlier 
years  of  school  attendance,  the  Conferences  on  the  newer 
subjects  are  only  seeking  an  advantage  which  the  oldest 
subjects  have  long  possessed.  The  elements  of  language, 
number,  and  geography  have  long  been  imparted  to  young 
children.  As  things  now  are,  the  high  school  teacher  finds  in 
the  pupils  fresh  from  the  grammar  schools  no  foundation  of 
elementary  mathematical  conceptions  outside  of  arithmetic ; 
no  acquaintance  with  algebraic  language ;  and  no  accurate 
knowledge  of  geometrical  forms.  As  to  botany,  zoology, 
chemistry,  and  physics,  the  minds  of  pupils  entering  the  high 
school  are  ordinarily  blank  on  these  subjects.  When  college 
professors  endeavor  to  teach  chemistry,  physics,  botany, 
zoology,  meteorology,  or  geology  to  persons  of  eighteen  or 
twenty  years  of  age,  they  discover  that  in  most  instances  new 
habits  of  observing,  reflecting,  and  recording  have  to  be 
painfully  acquired  by  the  students,  —habits  which  they  should 
have  acquired  in  early  childhood.  The  college  teacher  of 
history  finds  in  like  manner  that  his  subject  has  never  taken 


16  CORRELATION    OF    SUBJECTS. 

any  serious  hold  on  the  minds  of  pupils  fresh  from  the  secondary 
schools.  He  finds  that  they  have  devoted  astonishingly  little 
time  to  the  subject ;  and  that  they  have  acquired  no  habit  of 
historical  investigation,  or  of  the  comparative  examination  of 
different  historical  narratives  concerning  the  same  periods  or 
events.  It  is  inevitable,  therefore,  that  specialists  in  any  one  of 
the  subjects  which  are  pursued  in  the  high  schools  or  colleges 
should  earnestly  desire  that  the  minds  of  young  children 
be  stored  with  some  of  the  elementary  facts  and  principles  of 
their  subject ;  and  that  all  the  mental  habits,  which  the  adult 
student  will  surely  need,  begin  to  be  formed  in  the  child's 
mind  before  the  age  of  fourteen.  It  follows,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  that  all  the  Conferences  except  the  Conference  on 
Greek,  make  strong  suggestions  concerning  the  programmes  of 
primary  and^rammar  schools, — generally  with  some  reference 
to  the  subsequent  programmes  of  secondary  schools.  They 
desire  important  changes  in  the  elementary  grades  ;  and  the 
changes  recommended  are  all  in  the  direction  of  increasing 
simultaneously  the  interest  and  the  substantial  training  quality 
of  primary  and  grammar  school  studies. 

If  anyone  feels  dismayed  at  the  number  and  variety  of  the 
subjects  to  be  opened  to  children  of  tender  age,  let  him  observe 

i  that  while  these  nine  Conferences  desire  each  their  own  subject 
to  be  brought  into  the  courses  of  elementary  schools,  they  all 

/agree  that  these  different  subjects  should  be  correlated  and 
associated  one  with  another  by  the  programme  and  by  the 
actual  teaching.  If  the  nine  Conferences  had  sat  all  together 
as  a  single  body,  instead  of  sitting  as  detached  and  even 
isolated  bodies,  they  could  not  have  more  forcibly  expressed 
their  conviction  that  every  subject  recommended  for  intro- 
duction into  elementary  and  secondary  schools  should  help 
every  other ;  and  that  the  teacher  of  each  single  subject  should 
feel  responsible  for  the  advancement  of  the  pupils  in  all 
subjects,  and  should  distinctly  contribute  to  this  advancement. 
On  one  very  important  question  of  general  policy  which 
affects  profoundly  the  preparation  of  all  school  programmes, 
the  Committee  of  Ten  and  all  the  Conferences  are  absolutely 
unanimous.  Among  the  questions  suggested  for  discussion  in 
each  Conference  were  the  following :  — 


A   SIMPLIFICATION   OF   PROGRAMMES.  17 

7.  Should   the  subject   be  treated  differently  for  pupils  who  are 
going  to  college,  for  those  who  are  going  to  a  scientific  school,  and 
for  those  who,  presumably,  are  going  to  neither? 

8.  At   what    age   should    this   differentiation    begin,   if    any    be 
recommended? 

The  7th  question  is  answered  unanimously  in  the  negative  by 

the  Conferences,  and  the  8th  therefore  needs  no  answer.     The 

Committee  of  Ten  unanimously  agree  with  the  Conferences. 

Ninety-eight   teachers,  intimately  concerned    either   with   the 

actual  work  of  American  secondary  schools,  or  with  the  results 

of  that  work  as  they  appear  in  students  who  come  to  college, 

/unanimously  declare  that  every  subject  which  is  taught  at  all 

I  in  a  secondary  school  should  be  taxight  in  the  same  way  and 

1  to  the  same  extent  to  every  pupil  so  long  as  he  pursues  it,  no 

j  matter  what  the  probable  destination  of  the  pupil  may  be,  or 

at  what  point  his  education  is  to  cease.     Thus,  for  all  pupils 

who  study   Latin,  or   history,  or    algebra,  for    example,  the 

allotment  of  time  and  the  method  of  instruction  in  a  given 

o 

school  should  be  the  same  year  by  year.  Not  that  all  the 
pupils  should  pursue  every  subject  for  the  same  number  of 
years;  but  so  long  as  they  do  pursue  it,  they  should  all  be 
treated  alike.  It  has  been  a  very  general  custom  in  American 
high  schools  and  academies  to  make  up  separate  courses  of 
study  for  pupils  of  supposed  different  destinations,  the  propor- 
tions of  the  several  studies  in  the  different  courses  being  various. 
The  principle  laid  down  by  the  Conferences  will,  if  logically 
carried  out,  make  a  great  simplification  in  secondary  sc*hool 
programmes.  It  will  lead  to  each  subject's  being  treated  by. the 
school  in  the  same  way  by  the  year  for  all  pupils,  and  this, 
whether  the  individual  pupil  be  required  to  choose  between 
courses  which  run  through  several  years,  or  be  allowed  some  . 
choice  among  subjects  year  by  year. 

Persons  who  read  all  the  appended  reports  will  observe  the 
frequent  occurrence  of  the  statement  that,  in  order  to  introduce 
the  changes  recommended,  teachers_more  big]ily__tmiiied  will 
be  needed  in  both  the  elementary  and  the  secondary  schools. 
There  are  frequent  expressions  to  the  effect  that  a  higher  grade 
of  scholarship  is  needed  in  teachers  of  the  lower  classes,  or  that 
the  general  adoption  of  some  method  urged  by  a  Conference 
2 


18  TEACHERS    MORE    HIGHLY    TRAINED. 

must  depend  upon  the  better  preparation  of  teachers  in  the 
high  schools,  model  schools,  normal  schools,  or  colleges  in 
which  they  are  trained.  The  experienced  principal  or  superin- 
tendent in  reading  the  reports  will  be  apt  to  say  to  himself,  - 
"This  recommendation  is  sound,  but  cannot  be  carried  out 
without  teachers  who  have  received  a  training  superior  to  that 
of  the  teachers  now  at  my  command."  It  must  be  remembered, 
in  connection  with  these  admissions,  or  expressions  of  anxiety, 
that  the  Conferences  were  urged  by  the  Committee  of  Ten  to 
advise  the  Committee  concerning  the  best  possible  —  almost  the 
ideal  —  treatment  of  each  subject  taught  in  a  secondary  school 
course,  without,  however,  losing  sight  of  the  actual  condition 
of  American  schools,  or  pushing  their  recommendations  beyond 
what  might  reasonably  be  considered  attainable  in  a  moderate 
number  of  years.  The  Committee  believe  that  the  Conferences 
have  carried  out  wisely  the  desire  of  the  Committee,  in  that 
they  have  recommended  improvements,  which,  though  great 
and  seldom  to  be  made  at  once  and  simultaneously,  are  by  no 
means  unattainable.  The  existing  agencies  for  giving  instruc- 
tion to  teachers  already  in  service  are  numerous ;  and  the 
normal  schools  and  the  colleges  are  capable  of  making  prompt 
and  successful  efforts  to  supply  the  better  trained  and  equipped 
teachers  for  whom  the  reports  of  the  Conferences  call. 

Many  recommendations  will  be  found  to  be  made  by  more' 
than  one  Conference.  Thus,  all  the  Conferences  on  foreign 
languages  seem  to  agree  that  the  introduction  of  two  foreign 
languages  in  the  same  year  is  inexpedient ;  and  all  of  them 
insist  on  practice  in  reading  the  foreign  language  aloud,  on 
the  use  of  good  English  in  translating,  and  on  practice  in 
translating  the  foreign  language  at  sight,  and  in  writing  it. 
Again,  all  the  Conferences  on  scientific  subjects  dwell  on 
> laboratory  work  by  the  pupils  as  the  best  means  of  instruction, 
and  on  the  great  utility  of  the  genuine  laboratory  note-book ; 
and  they  all  protest  that  teachers  of  science  need  at  least  as 
thorough  a  special  training  as  teachers  of  languages  or  mathe- 
matics receive.  In  reading  the  reports,  many  instances  will  be 
noticed  in  which  different  Conferences  have  reached  similar 
conclusions  without  any  consultation,  or  have  followed  a 
common  line  of  thought. 


LATIN. GREEK.  19 

Your  Committee  now  proceed  to  give  summaries  of  the  most 
important  recommendations  made  by  the  Conferences  as  regards 
topics  and  methods,  reserving  the  subject  of  time-allotment. 
But  in  so  doing,  they  desire  to  say  that  the  reading  of  these 
summaries  should  not  absolve  anyone  interested  in  the  general 
subject  from  reading  with  care  the  entire  report  of  every  Con- 
ference. The  several  reports  are  so  full  of  suggestions  and 
recommendations  concisely  and  cogently  stated  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  present  adequate  abstracts  of  them. 

1.  LATIN. 

An  important  recommendation  of  the  Latin  Conference  is  the 
recommendation  that  the  study  of  Latin  be  introduced  into 
American  schools  earlier, .than  it  now  is.  They  recommend 
that  trajiglatianjit  sight  form  a  constant  and  increasing  part  of 
the  examinations  for  admission  to  college  and  of  the  work  of 
preparation.  They  next  urge  that  practice  in  writing  Latin 
should  not  be  dissociated  from  practice  in  rejadinj£_and  Vanslat- 
ing ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  two  should  be  carried  on 
with  equal  steps.  The  Conference  desire  the  schools  to  adopt 
a  greater  variety  of  Latin  authors  for  beginners,  and  they  give 
good  reasons  against  the  exclusive  use  of  Caesar's  Gallic  War. 
They  object  to  the  common  practice  of  putting  the  teaching  of 
beginners  into  the  hands  of  the  youngfest  teachers,  who  have 
the  slenderest  equipment  of  knowledge  and  experience.  They 
dwell  on  the  importance  of  attending  to  pronunciation  and 
reading  aloud,  to  fproja,  vocabulary,  syntax,  and  order,  and  to 
the  means  of  learning  to  understand  the  Latin  before  translating 
it ;  and  they  describe  and  urge  the  importance  of  a  higher  ideal 
in  translation  than  now  prevails  in  secondary  schools.  The 
formal  recommendations  of  the  Conference,  fourteen  in  number, 
will  be  found  concisely  stated  in  numbered  paragraphs  at  the 
close  of  their  report. 

2.  GREEK. 

The  Conference  on  Greek  agree  with  the  Conference  on  Latin 
in  recommending  the  cultivation  of  reading  at  sight  in  schools, 
and  in  recommending  that  practice  in  translation  into  the  foreign 


20  GREEK. ENGLISH. 

language  should  be  continued  throughout  the  school  course. 
They  urge  that  three  years  be  the  minimum  time  for  the  study 
of  Greek  in  schools  ;  provided  that  Latin  be  studied  four  years. 
They  would  not  have  a  pupil  begin  the  study  of  Greek  without 
.a  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  Latin.  They  recommend  the 
substitution  of  portions  of  the  Hellenica  for  two  books  of  the 
Anabasis  in  the  requirements  for  admission  to  college,  and  the 
use  of  some  narrative  portions  of  Thwyvdides  in  schools.  They 
urge  that  Homer  should  continue  to  be  studied  in  all  schools 
which  provide  instruction  in  Greek  through  three  years,  and 
they  suggest  that  the  Odyssey  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  Iliad. 
They  regret  "that  so  few  colleges  through  their  admission 
examinations  encourage  reading  at  sight  in  schools."  Like 
the  Latin  Conference,  the  Greek  Conference  urge  that  the 
reading  of  the  text  be  constantly  practiced  by  both  teacher 
and  pupil,  "  and  that  teachers  require  from  their  pupils  no 
less  intelligent  reading  of  the  text  than  accurate  translation 
of  the  same."  The  Greek  Conference  also  adopted  a  vote  "  to 
concur  with  the  Latin  Conference  as  to  the  age  at  which  the 
study  of  Latin  should  be  begun."  The  specific  recommenda- 
tions of  the  Conference  will  be  found  in  brief  form  in  the 
paragraphs  at  the  head  of  the  eleven  numbered  sections  into 
which  their  report  is  divided. 

3.  ENGLISH. 

The  Conference  on  English  found  it  necessary  to  deal  with 
the  study  of  English  in  schools  below  the  high  school  grade  as 
well  as  in  the  high  school.  Their  opening  recommendations 
deal  with  the  very  first  years  of  school,  and  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  admirable  parts  of  their  report  relates  to  Eng- 
lish in  the  primary  and  the  grammar  schools. 

The  Conference,  are!  of  the  opinion  that  English  should  be 
pursued  in  the  high  school  during  the  entire  course  of  four 
years  ;  but  in  making  this  recommendation  the  Conference  have 
in  mind  both  study  of  literature  and  training  in  the  expression  of 
thought.  To  the  study  of  rhetoric  they  assign  one  hour  a  week 
in  the  third  year  of  the  high  school  course.  To  the  subject  of 
historical  and  systematic  grammar  they  assign  one  hour  a  week 


ENGLISH.  21 

in  the  fourth  year  of  the  high  school  course.  The  intelligent 
reader  of  the  report  of  this  Conference  will  find  described  in  it 
the  means  by  which  the  study  of  English  in  secondary  schools 
is  to  be  made  the  equal  of  any  other  study  in  disciplinary  or 
develo_DinoL_pawer-.  The  Conferencfijcjaim  for  English  as  much 

-, *  ~J     A  CT 

time  as  the  Latin  Conference  claim  for  Latin  in  secondary 
schools  ;  and  it  is  clear  that  they  intend  that  the  study  shall  be 
in  all  respects  as  serious  and  informing  as  the  study  of  Latin. 
One  of  the  most  interesting  opinions  expressed  by  the  Confer- 
ence is  "  that  the  best  results  in  the  teaching  of  English  in  high 
schools  cannot  be  secured  without  the  aid  given  by  the  study 
of  some  other  language  ;  and  that  Latin  and  German,  by  reason 
of  their  fuller  inflectional  system,  are  especially  suited  to  this 
end."  In  the  case  of  high  schools,  as  well  as  in  schools  of  lower 
grade,  the  Conference  declare  that  every  teacher,  whatever  his 
department,  should  feel  responsible  for  the  use  of  good  English 
on  the  part  of  his  pupils.  In  several  passages  of  this  report  j 
the  idea  recurs  that  training  in  (English  must  go  hand  in  hand  | 
with  the  study  of  other  subjects.)  Thus  the  Conference  hope 
for  the  study  of  the  history  and  geography  of  the  English- 
speaking  people,  so  far  as  these  illustrate  the  development 
of  the  English  language.  They  mention  that  "the  extent 
to  which  the  study  of  the  sources  of  English  words  can  be 
carried  in  any  school  or  class  will  depend  on  the  acquaintance 
the  pupils  possess  with  Latin,  French,  and  German."  They 
say  that  the  study  of  words  should  be  so  pursued  as  to  illus- 
trate the  political,  social,  intellectual,  and  religious  develop- 
ment of  the  English  race  ;  and  they  urge  that  the  admission  of 
n  student  to  college  should  be  made  to  depend  largely  on  his 
ability  to  write  English,  as  shown  in  his  examination  books  on 
other  subjects./  It  is  a  fund  am  ental_  idea  in  this  report  that  the 
study  of  every  other  subject  should  contribute,  to  the  pupil's 
training  in  English ;  and  that  the  pupil's  capacity  to  write 
English  should  be  made  available,  and  be  developed,  in  every 
other  department.  The  very  specific  recommendations  of  the 
Conference  as  to  English  requirements  for  admission  to  colleges 
and  scientific  schools  are  especially  wise  and  valuable. 


22  OTHER  MODERN  LANGUAGES. 

4.   OTHER  MODERN  LANGUAGES. 

The  most  novel  and  striking  recommendation  made  by  the 
Conference  on  Modern  Languages  is  that  an  elective  course  in 
German  or  French  be  provided  in  the  grammar  school,  the 
instruction  to  be  open  to  children  at  about  ten  years  of  age. 
The  Conference  made  this  recommendation  "in  the  firm  belief 
that  the  educational  effects  of  modern  language  study  will  be  of 
immense  benefit  to  all  who  are  able  to  pursue  it  under  proper 
guidance."  They  admit  that  the  study  of  Latin  presents  the 
same  advantages  ;  but  living  languages  seem  to  them  better 
adapted  to  grammar  school  work.  The  recommendations  of 
this  Conference  with  regard  to  the  number  of  lessons  a 
week  are  specific.  They  even  construct  a  table  showing 
the  time  which  should  be  devoted  to  modern  languages  in  each 
of  the  last  four  years  of  the  elementary  schools  and  in  each 
year  of  the  high  school.  They  plead  that  "all  pupils  of  the 
same  intelligence  and  the  same  degree  of  maturity  be  instructed 
alike,  no  matter  whether  they  are  subsequently  to  enter  a 
college  or  scientific  school,  or  intend  to  pursue  their  studies  no 
further."  The  Conference  also  state  with  great  precision  what 
in  their  judgment  may  be  expected  of  pupils  in  German  and 
French  at  the  various  stages  of  their  progress.  An  important 
passage  of  the  report  treats  of  the  best  way  to  facilitate  the  pro- 
gress of  beginners  ; — pupils  should  be  lifted  over  hard  places; 
frequent  reviews  are  not  to  be  recommended  ;  new  texts  stimu- 
late interest  and  enlarge  the  vocabulary.  Their  recommenda- 
tions concerning  translation  into  English,  reading  aloud, 
habituating  the  ear  to  the  sounds  of  the  foreign  language,  and 
translating  into  the  foreign  language,  closely  resemble  the 
recommendations  of  the  Conferences  on  Latin,  Greek,  and 
English  regarding  the  best  methods  of  instruction  in  those 
languages.  In  regard  to  college  requirements,  the  Conference 

'agree  with  several  other  Conferences  in  stating  "  that  college 
requirements  for  admission  should  coincide  with  the  high  school 
requirements  for  graduation."  Finally,  they  declare  that  "the 
worst  obstacle  to  modern  language  study  is  the  lack  of  properly 
equipped  instructors  ;  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  universities, 
states,  and  cities  to  provide  opportunities  for  the  special 
preparation  of  modern  language  teachers." 


MATHEMATICS.  23 

5.   MATHEMATICS. 

The  form  of  the  report  of  the  Conference  on  Mathematics 
differs  somewhat  from  that  of  the  other  reports.  This  report 
is  subdivided  under  five  headings  :  —  1st,  General  Conclusions. 
2nd,  The  Teaching  of  Arithmetic.  3rd,  The  Teaching  of  Con- 
crete Geometry.  4th,  The  Teaching  of  Algebra.  5th,  The 
Teaching  of  Formal  or  Demonstrative  Geometry. 

The  first  general  conclusion  of  the  Conference  was  arrived  at 
unanimously.  The  Conference  consisted  of  one  government 
official  and  university  professor,  five  professors  of  mathematics 
in  as  many  colleges,  one  principal  of  a  high  school,  two 
teachers  of  mathematics  in  endowed  schools,  and  one  proprietor 
of  a  private  school  for  boys.  .  The  professional  experience  of 
these  gentlemen  and  their  several  fields  of  work  were  various, 
and  they  came  from  widely  separated  parts  of  the  country  ;  yet 
they  were  unanimously  of  opinion  "that  a  radical  change  in 
the  teaching  of  arithmetic  was  necessary."  They  recommend 
"that  the  course  in  arithmetic  be  at  once  abridged  and  enriched  ; 
abridged  by  omitting  entirely  those  subjects  which  perplex  and 
exhaust  the  pupil  without  affording  any  really  valuable  jmental 
discipline,  and  enriched  by  a  greater  number  of  exercises  in 
simple  calculation,  and  in  the  solution  of  concrete  problems. " 
They  specify  in  detail  the  subjects  which  they  think  should  be 
curtailed,  or  entirely  omitted ;  and  they  give  in  their  special 
report  on  the  teaching  of  arithmetic  a  full  statement  of  the 
reasons  on  which  their  conclusion  is  based.  They  map  out  a 
course  in  arithmetic  which,  in  their  judgment,  should  begin 
about  the  age  of  six  years,  and  be  completed  at  about  the 
thirteenth  year  of  age. 

The  Conference  next  recommend  that  a  course  of  instruction 
in  concrete  geometry  with  numerous  exercises  be  introduced 
into  the  grammar  schools  ;  and  that  this  instruction    should,  / 
during  the  earlier  years,  be  given  in  connection  with  drawing./ 
|  They  recommend  that  the  study  of  systematic  algebra  should 
be  begun  at  the  age  of  fourteen ;  but  that,  in  connection  with    / 
the  study  of  arithmetic,  the  pupils  should  earlier  be  made 
familiar  with   algebraic   expressions   and   symbols,   including 
.   the  method  of  solving  simple  equations.     "The  Conference 


24  GEOMETHY.  ALGEBRA. 

believe  that  the  study  of  demonstrative  geometry  should  begin 
at  the  end  of  the  first  year's  study  of  algebra,  and  be  carried  on 
by  the  side  of  algebra  for  the  next  two  years,  occupying  about 
two  hours  and  a  half  a  week."  They  are  also  of  opinion  "that 
if  the  introductory  course  in  concrete  geometry  has  been  well 
taught,  both  plane  and  solid  geometry  can  be  mastered  at  this 
time."  Most  of  the  improvements  in  teaching  arithmetic  which 
the  Conference  suggest  "can  be  summed  up  under  the  two 
heads  of  giving  the  teaching  a  more  concrete  form,  and  paying 
more  attention  to  facility  and  correctness  in  work.  The  con- 
crete system  should  not  be  confined  to  principles,  but  be 
extended  to  practical  applications  in  measuring  and  in  physics." 

In  regard  to  the  teaching  of  concrete  geometry,  the  Confer- 
ence urge  that  while  the  student's  geometrical  education  should 
begin  in  the  kindergarten,  or  at  the  latest  in  the  primary  school, 
systematic  instruction  in  concrete  or  experimental  geometry 
should  begin  at  about  the  age  of  ten  for  the  average  student, 
and  should  occupy  about  one  school  hour  a  week  for  at  least 
three  years.  From  the  outset  of  this  course,  the  pupil  should 
be  required  to  express  himself  verbally  as  well  as  by  drawing 
and  modelling.  He  should  learn  to  estimate  by  the  eye,  and 
to  measure  with  some  degree  of  accuracy,  lengths,  angular 
magnitudes,  and  areas ;  to  make  accurate  plans  from  his  own 
measurements  and  estimates ;  and  to  make  models  of  simple 
geometrical  solids.  The  whole  work  in  concrete  geometry  will 
connect  itself  on  the  one  side  with  the  work  in  arithmetic,  and 
on  the  other  with  elementary  instruction  in  physics.  With  the 
study  of  arithmetic  is  therefore  to  be  intimately  associated  the 
study  of  algebraic  signs  and  forms,  of  concrete  geometry,  and 
of  elementary  physics.  Here  is  a  striking  instance  of  the  inter- 
lacing of  subjects  which  seems  so  desirable  to  every  one  of  the 
nine  Conferences. 

Under  the  head  of  teaching  algebra,  the  Conference  set  forth 
in  detail  the  method  of  familiarizing  the  pupil  with  the  use  of 
algebraic  language  during  the  study  of  arithmetic.  This  part 
of  the  report  also  deals  clearly  with  the  question  of  the  time 
required  for  the  thorough  mastery  of  algebra  through  quadratic 
equations.  The  report  on  the  teaching  of  demonstrative  geom- 
etry is  a  clear  and  concise  statement  of  the  best  method  of 


PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY.  25 

teaching  this  subject.  It  insists  on  the  importance  of  elegance 
and  finish  in  geometrical  demonstration,  for  the  reason  that  the 
discipline  for  which  geometrical  demonstration  is  to  be  chiefly 
prized  is  a  discipline  in  complete,  exact,  and  logical  statement. 
If  slovenliness  of  expression,  or  awkwardness  of  form,  is  toler- 
ated, this  admirable  discipline  is  lost.  The  Conference  therefore 
recommend  an  abundance  of  oral  exercises  in  geometry  —  for 
which  there  is  no  proper  substitute  —  and  the  rejection  of  all 
demonstrations  which  are  not  exact  and  formally  perfect. 
Indeed  throughout  all  the  teaching  of  mathematics  the  Con- 
ference deem  it  important  that  great  stress  be  laid  by  the 
teacher  on  accuracy  of  statement  and  elegance  of  form  as  well 
as  on  clear  and  rigorous  reasoning.  Another  very  important 
recommendation  in  this  part  of  the  report  is  to  be  found  in  the 
following  passage,  —  "As  soon  as  the  student  has  acquired 
the  art  of  rigorous  demonstration,  his  work  should  cease  to  be 
merely  receptive.  He  should  begin  to  devise  constructions 
and  demonstrations  for  himself.  Geometry  cannot  be  mastered 
by  reading  the  demonstrations  of  a  text-book  ;  and  while  there 
is  no  branch  of  elementary  mathematics  in  which  purely  recep- 
tive work,  if  continued  too  long,  may  lose  its  interest  more 
completely,  there  is  also  none  in  which  independent  work  can 
be  made  more  attractive  and  stimulating."  These  observations 
are  entirely  in  accordance  with  the  recent  practice  of  some 
colleges  in  setting  admission  examination  papers  in  geometry 
which  demand  of  the  candidates  some  capacity  to  solve  new 
problems,  or  rather  to  make  new  application  of  familiar 
principles. 

6.    PHYSICS,  CHEMISTRY,  AND  ASTRONOMY. 

The  Conference  on  this  subject  were  urgent  that  the  study 
of  simple  natural  phenomena  be  introduced  into  elementary 
schools  ;  and  it  was  tho  sense  of  the  Conference  that  at  least 
one  period  a  day  from  the  fir^st  year  of  the  primary  school 
should  be  given  to  such  study.  Apparently  the  Conference 
entertained  the  opinion  that  the  present  teachers  in  elementary 
schools  are  ill  prepared  to  teach  children  how  to  observe  simple 
natural  phenomena  ;  for  their  second  recommendation  was  that 
special  science  teachers  or  superintendents  be  appointed  to 


26  LABORATORY    TEACHING. 

instruct J;he  teachers  of  elementary  schools  in  the  methods  of 
teaching  natural  phenomena.  The  Conference  was  clearly  of 
opinion  that  from  the  beginning  this  study  should  be  pursued 
by  the  pupil  chiefly,  though  not  exclusively,  by  means  of 
experimeiits  and  by  practice  in  the  use  of  simple  instruments 
for  making  physical  measurements.  The  report  dwells  re- 
peatedly on  the  importance  of  the  study  of  things  and  phenom- 
ena by  direct^contact.  It  emphasizes  the  necessity  of  a  large 
proportion  of  laboratory  work  in  the  study  of  physics  and 
chemistry,  and  advocates  the  keeping  of  laboratory  note-books 
by  the  pupils,  and  the  use  of  such  note-books  as  part  of  the 
test  for  admission  to  college.  At  the  same  time  the  report 
points  out  that  laboratory  work  must  be  conjoined  with  the 
study  of  a  text^bopk  and  with  attendance  at  lectures  or  demon- 
strations ;  and  that  intelligent  direction  by  a  good  teacher  is 
as  necessary  in  a  laboratory  as  it  is  in  the  ordinary  recitation 
or  lecture  room.  The  great  utility  of  the  laboratory  note-book 
is  emphatically  stated.  To  the  objection  that  the  kind  of 
instruction  described  requires  (much  time  and  eifort  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher)  the  Conference  reply  that  to  give  good  instruc- 
tion in  the  sciences  requires  of  the  teacher  more  work  than  to 
give  good  instruction  in  mathematics  or  the  languages  ;  and 
that  the  sooner  this  fact  is  recognized  by  those  who  have  the 
management  of  schools  the  better  for  all  concerned.  The 
science  teacher  must  regularly  spend  much  time  in  collecting 
materials,  preparing  experiments,  and  keeping  collections  in 
order ;  and  this  indispensable  labor  should  be  allowed  for  in 
.  programmes  and  salaries.  As  regards  the  means  of  testing 
the  progress  of  the  pupils  in  physics  and  chemistry,  the 
Conference  were  unanimously  of  opinion  that  a  laboratory 
examination  should  always  be  combined  with  an  oral  or  written 
examination,  neither  test  taken  singly  being  sufficient.  There 
was  a  difference  of  opinion  in  the  Conference  on  the  question 
whether  physics  should  precede  chemistry,  or  chemistry 
physics.  vThe  logical  order  would  place  physics  first ;  but  all 
the  members  of  the  Conference  but  one  advised  that  chemistry 
be  put  first  for  practical  reasons  which  are  stated  in  the  majority 
reportS>  A  sub-committee  of  the  Conference  has  prepared  lists 
of  experiments  in  physics  and  chemistry  for  the  use  of  second- 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  27 

ary  schools, — not,  of  course,  as  a  prescription,  but  only  as  a 
suggestion,  and  a  somewhat  precise  indication  of  the  topics 
which  the  Conference  had  in  mind,  and  of  the  limits  of  the 
instruction. 

7.    NATURAL  HISTORY. 

The  Conference  on  Natural  History  unanimously  agreed  that 
the  study  of  botany  and  zoology  ought  to  be  introduced  into 
the  primary  schools  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  school  course, 
and  be  pursued  steadily,  with  not  less  than  two  periods  a  week, 
throughout  the  whole  course  below  the  high  school.  In  the 
next  place  they  agreed  that  in  these  early  lessons  in  natural 
science  no  text-book  should  be  used  ;  but  that  the  study  should 
constantly  be  associated  with  the  study  of  literature,  lan- 
guage, and  drawing.  It  was  their  opinion  that  the  study 
of  physiology  should  be  postponed  to  the  later  years  of  the 
high  school  course ;  but  that  in  the  high  school,  some  branch  of 
natural  history  proper  should  be  pursued  every  day  throughout 
at  least  one  year.  Like  the  report  on  Physics,  Chemistry,  and 
Astronomy,  the  report  on  Natural  History  emphasizes  tjie 
absolute  necessity  of  1  aboratory  work  by  the  pupils  on  plants 
and  animals  ;  and  would  have  careful  drawing  insisted  on  from 
the  beginning  of  the  instruction.  As  the  laboratory  note-book 
is  recommended  by  the  Conference  on  Physics,  so  the  Confer- 
ence on  Natural  History  recommends  that  the  pupils  should  be 
made  to  express  themselves  clearly  and  exactly  in  words,  or  by 
drawings,  in  describing  the  objects  which  they  observe ;  and 
they  believe  that  this  practice  will  be  found  a  valuable  aid  in 
training  the  pupils  in  the  art  of  expression.  They  agree  with 
the  Conference  on  Physics,  Chemistry,  and  Astronomy  that 
science  examinations  should  include  both  a  written  and  a 
laboratory  test,  and  that  the  laboratory  note-books  of  the 
pupils  should  be  produced  at  the  examination.  The  recom- 
mendations of  this  Conference  are  therefore  very  similar  to 
those  of  the  sixth  Conference,  so  far  as  methods  go  ;  but  there 
are  appended  to  the  general  report  of  the  Conference  on 
Natural  History  sub-reports  which  describe  the  proper  topics, 
the  best  order  of  topics,  and  the  right  methods  of  instruction 
in  botany  for  schools  below  the  high  school,  and  for  the  high 


28  HISTORY    AND    CIVIL    GOVERNMENT. 

school  itself,  and  in  zoology  for  the  secondary  schools. 
Inasmuch  as  both  the  subject  matter  and  the  methods  of 
instruction  in  natural  history  are  much  less  familiar  to  ordinary 
school  teachers  than  the  matter  and  the  methods  in  the  lan- 
guages and  mathematics,  the  Conference  believed  that  descrip- 
tive details  were  necessary  in  order  to  give  a  clear  view  of 
the  intentions  of  the  Conference.  In  another  sub-report  the 
Conference  give  their  reasons  for  recommending  the  postpone- 
ment to  the  latest  possible  time  of  the  study  of  physiology  and 
hygiene.  Like  the  sixth  Conference,  the  Conference  on  Natural 
History  protest  that  no  person  should  be  regarded  as  qualified 
to  teach  natural  science  who  has  not  had  special  training  for 
this  work,  —  a  preparation  at  least  as  thorough  as  that  of  their 
fellow  teachers  of  mathematics  and  the  languages. 

8.    HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

The  Conference  on  History,  Civil  Government,  and  Political 
Economy  had  a  task  different  in  some  respects  from  those  of 
other  Conferences.  It  is  now-a-days  admitted  that  language, 
natural  science,  and  mathematics  should  each  make  a  substan- 
tial part  of  education ;  but  the  function  of  history  in  education 
is  still  very  imperfectly  apprehended.  Accordingly,  the  eighth 
Conference  were  at  pains  to  declare  their  conception  of  the 
object  of  studying  history  and  civil  government  in  schools,  and 
their  belief  in  the  efficiency  of  these  studies  in  training  the 
judgment,  and  in  preparing  children  for  intellectual  enjoyments 
in  after  years,  and  for  the  exercise  at  maturity  of  a  salutary 
/influence  upon  national  affairs.  They  believed  that  the  time 
\l  devoted  in  schools  to  history  and  the  allied  subjects  should  be 
materially  increased  ;  and  they  have  therefore  presented  argu- 
ments in  favor  of  that  increase.  At  the  same  time,  they  state 
strongly  their  conviction  that  they  have  recommended  "  nothing 
that  was  not  already  being  done  in  some  good  schools,  and  that 
might  not  reasonably  be  attained  wherever  there  is  an  efficient 
system  of  graded  schools."  This  Conference  state  quite  as 
strongly  as  any  other  their  desire  to  associate  the  study  of  their 
particular  subject  with  that  of  other  subjects  which  enter  into 
every  school  programme.  They  declare  that  the  teaching  of 


HISTORY   WITH    ENGLISH    AND    GEOGRAPHY.  29 

history  should  be  intimately  connected  with  the  teaching  of ' 
English  ;  that  pupils  should  be  encouraged  to  avail  themselves 
of  their  knowledge  of  ancient  and  modern  languages  ;  and  that 
their  study  of  history  should  be  associated  with  the  study  of 
topography  and  political  geography,  and  should  be  supple- 
mented by  the  study  of  historical  and  commercial  geography, 
and  the  drawing  of  historical  maps.  They  desire  that  historical 
works  should  be  used  for  reading  in  schools,  and  that  subjects 
of  English  composition  should  be  drawn  from  the  lessons  in 
history.  They  would  have  historical  poems  committed  to 
memory,  and  the  reading  of  biographies  and  historical  novels 
encouraged.  While  they  are  of  opinion  that  political  economy 
should  not  be  taught  in  secondary  schools,  they  urge  that,  in 
connection  with  United  States  history,  ci  \dJLgov_ernment,  and 
commerciaTgeography,  instruction  should  be  given  in  the  most 
important  economic  topics.  The  Conference  would  therefore 
have  the  instruction  in  history  made  contributory-  to  the  work 
in  three  other  school  departments,  namely,  English,  geography, 
and  drawing.  The  subject  of  civil  government  they  would 
associate  with  both  history  apd  geography.  They  would  intro- 
duce it  into  the  grammar  school  by  means  of  oraHessons,  and 
into  the  high  school  by  means  of  a  text-book  with  collateral 
reading  and  oral  lessons.  In  the  high  school  they  believe  that 
the  study  of  civil  government  may  be  made  comparative,  — 
that  is,  that  the  American  method  may  be  compared  with 
foreign  systems. 

Although  the  Conference  was  made  up  of  very  diverse 
elements,  every  member  of  the  Conference  was  heartily  in 
favor  of  every  vote  adopted.  This  remarkable  unanimity  was 
not  obtained  by  the  silence  of  dissentients,  or  the  withdrawal 
of  opposition  on  disputed  points.  It  was  the  natural  result  of 
the  strong  conviction  of  all  the  members,  that  history,  when 
taught  by  the  methods  advocated  in  their  report,  deserves  a 
position  in  school  programmes  which  would  give  it  equal 
dignity  and  importance  with  any  of  the  most  favored  subjects, 
and  that  the  advantages  for  all  children  of  the  rational  study  of 
history  ought  to  be  diffused  as  widely  as  possible.  On  one 
point  they  made  a  clearer  declaration  than  any  other  Con- 
ference ;  although  several  other  Conferences  indicate  similar 


30  TIME    TO    BE    GIVEN    TO    HISTORY. 

opinions.  They  declared  that  their  interest  was  chiefly  "  in 
the  school  children  who  have  no  expectation  of  going  to 
college,  the  larger  number  of  whom  will  not  even  enter  a 
high  school,"  and  that  their  "  recommendations  are  in  no  way 
directed  to  building  up  the  colleges,  or  increasing  the  number 
of  college  students."  Like  every  other  Conference,  they  felt 
anxious  about  the  qualifications  of  the  teachers  who  are  to  be 
entrusted  with  the  teaching  of  history,  and  they  urged  that 
only  teachers  who  have  had  adequate  special  training  should  be 
employed  to  teach  history  and  civil  government.  In  their 
specific  recommendations  they  strongly  urge  that  the  historical 
course  be  made  continuous  from  year  to  year,  and  extend 
through  eight  years,  and  in  this  respect  be  placed  upon  the 
same  footing  with  other  substantial  subjects. 

The  answers  of  this  Conference  to  the  questions  contained  in 
the  memorandum  sent  to  the  Conferences  by  the  Committee  of 
Ten  were  specific  and  clear.  They  will  be  found  in  an 
appendix  to  the  report  of  the  Conference. 

In  regard  to  the  time  to  be  devoted  to  history  in  school 
programmes,  this  Conference  ask  for  not  less  than  three 
periods  a  week  throughout  a  course  of  eight  years ;  and  they 
surest  that  some  of  this  time  can  be  found  by  contracting;  the 

OO  «/  O 

course  in  arithmetic,  and  using  for  history  a  part  of  the  time 
now  given  to  political  geography  and  to  language  study.  Of 
these  eight  years  they  suggest  that  four  should  be  in  the  high 
school  and  four  in  the  grammar  school.  They  "  especially 
recommend  such  a  choice  of  subjects  as  will  give  pupils  in  the 
grammar  schools  an  opportunity  of  studying  the  history  of 
other  countries,  and  to  the  high  schools  one  year's  study  on 
the  intensive  method." 

A  large  portion  of  the  report  is  necessarily  taken  up  with 
the  description  of  what  the  Conference  consider  the  most 
suitable  historical  topics  and  the  best  methods  of  teaching 
history.  This  portion  of  the  report  does  not  admit  of  any 
useful  presentation  in  outline  ;  it  must  be  read  in  full. 

With  regard  to  examinations  in  history  for  admission  to 
college,  the  Conference  protest  "against  the  present  lax  and 
inefficient  system,"  and  seem  to  sum  up  their  own  desires  on 
this  subject  in  the  statement  that  "the  requirements  for  college 


GEOGRAPHY.  31 

ought  to  be  so  framed  that  the  methods  of  teaching  best  adapted 
to  meet  them  will  also  be  best  for  all  pupils." 

Like  the  Conferences  on  scientific  subjects  the  Conference  on 
History  insist  on  note-books,  abstracts,  special  reports,  and 
other  written  work,  as  desirable  means  of  teaching.  If  the 
recommendations  of  the  nine  Conferences  should  be  carried  out 
in  grammar  and  high  schools,  there  would  certainly  be  at  least 
one  written  exercise  a  day  for  every  pupil,  —  a  result  which 
persons  interested  in  training  children  to  write  English  deem 
it  important  to  accomplish. 

The  observations  of  the  Conference  on  geographical  training 
in  connection  with  history  are  interesting  and  suggestive,  as 
are  also  the  recurring  remarks  on  the  need  of  proper  apparatus 
for  teaching  history,  such  as  maps,  reference-libraries,  histori- 
cal pictures,  and  photographs.  It  is  not  the  natural  sciences 
alone  which  need  school  apparatus. 

9.    GEOGRAPHY. 

Considering  that  geography  has  been  a  subject  of  recognized"? 
value  in  elementary  schools  for  many  generations,  and  that  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  whole  school  time  of  children  has 
long  been  devoted  to  a  studyjcalled  by  this  name,  it  is  soni 
what  startling  to  find  that  the  report  of  the  Conference  on 
Geography  deals  with  more  novelties  than  any  other  report  \) 
exhibits    more    dissatisfaction   with   prevailing   methods;    and\ 
makes,   on   the    whole,    the    most   revolutionary   suggestions. )   I 
This  Conference  had  but  nine  members  present  at  its  sessions  ;  ~ 
and  before  the  final  revision  of  its  report  had  been  accomplished, 
one  of  the  most  valued  of  its  members  died.     Seven  members 
sign  the  majority  report,  and  the  minority  report  is  presented 
by  one   member.       The  dissenting  member,   however,    while 
protesting  against  the  views  of  the  majority  on  many  points, 
concurs  with   the    majority  in    some   of  the   most   important 
conclusions  arrived  at  by  the  Conference. 

It  is  obvious  on  even  a  cursory  reading  of  the  majority  and  ,  / 
minority  reports  that  geography  means  for  all  the  members  of 
this   Conference   something  entirely   different   from    the   term  I 
geography  as  generally  used  in   school  programmes.      Their 
definition  of  the  word  makes  it  embrace  not  only  a  description 


32  COMPREHENSIVENESS    OF    GEOGRAPHY. 

of  the  surface  of  the  earth,  but  also  the  elements  of  botany, 
zoology,  astronomy,  and  meteorology,  as  well  as  many  con- 
siderations pertaining  to  commerce,  government,  and  ethnology, 
he  physical  environment  of  man  "  expresses  as  well  as  any 
single  phrase  can  the  Conference's  conception  of  the  principal 
ubject  which  they  wish  to  have  taught.  No  one  can  read  the 
reports  without  perceiving  that  the  advanced  instruction  in 
geography  which  the  Conference  conceive  to  be  desirable  and 
feasible  in  high, .schools  cannot  be  given  until  the  pupils  have 
mastered  many  of  the  elementary  facts  of  botany,  zoology, 
V  geometry,  and  physics.  It  is  noteworthy  also  that  this  ninth 
Conference,  like  the  seventh,  dealt  avowedly  and  unreservedly 
with  the  whole  range  of  instruction  in  primary  and  secondary 
schools.  They  did  not  pretend  to  treat  chiefly  instruction  in 
secondary  schools,  and  incidentally  instruction  in  the  lower 
4  schools  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  grasped  at  once  the  whole  prob- 
lem, and  described  the  topics,  methods,  and  apparatus  appropri- 
ate to  the  entire  course  of  twelve  years.  They  recognized  that 
complete  descriptions  would  be  necessary  in  all  three  branches 
of  the  subject, — topics,  methods,  and  equipment;  and  they 
have  given  these  descriptions  with  an  amplitude  and  force 
which  leave  little  to  be  desired.  More  distinctly  than  any 
other  Conference,  they  recognized  that  they  were  presenting  an 
ideal  course  which  could  not  be  carried  into  effect  everywhere 
or  immediately.  Indeed  at  several  points  they  frankly  state 
that  the  means  of  carrying  out  their  recommendations  are  not 
at  present  readily  accessible  ;  and  they  exhibit  the  same  anxiety 
which  is  felt  by  several  other  Conferences  about  training 
teachers  for  the  kind  of  work  which  the  Conference  believe  to 
be  desirable.  After  the  full  and  interesting  descriptions  of  the 
relations  and  divisions  of  geographical  science,  as  the  Confer- 
ence define  it,  the  most  important  sections  of  their  report  relate 
to  the  methods  and  means  of  presenting  the  subject  in  schools, 
and  to  the  right  order  in  developing  it.  The  methods  which 
they  advocate  require  not  only  better  equipped  teachers,  but 
better  means  of  illustrating  geographical  facts  in  the  school- 
room, such  as  charts,  maps,  globes,  photographs,  models, 
lantern  slides,  and  lanterns.  Like  all  the  other  Conferences 
on  scientific  subjects,  the  ninth  Conference  dwell  on  the  im- 


METEOROLOGY.  ,13 

, // 

portance  of  forming  from  the  start  good  habits  of  observing     •/ 
correctly  and  stating  accurately  the  facts  observed.     They  also\|'l 
wish  that  the  instruction  in  geography  may  be  connected  with  /* 
the  instruction  in  drawing,  history,  and  English.     They  believe  / 
that  meteorology  may  be  taught  as  an  observational  study  in 
the  earliest  years  of  the  grammar  school,  the  scholars  being 
even  then  made  familiar  with  the  use  of  the  thermometer,  the 
wind-vane,  and  the  rain-gauge  ;  and  that  it  may  be  carried  much 
farther  in  the  high  school  years,  after  physics  has  been  studied, 
so  that  the   pupils  may  then  attain  a  general  understanding 
of  topographical  maps,  of  pressure  and  wind   charts,  of  iso- 
thermal charts,  and  of  such  complicated  subjects  as  weather 
prediction,  rainfall  and  the  distribution  of  rain,  storms,  and  the 
seasonal  variations  of  the  atmosphere.     ^Their  conception  of 
physiography  is  a  very  comprehensive  one.     In  short,   they""T 
recommend  a  study  of  physical  geography  which  would  em- 
brace in  its  scope  the  elements  of  half-a-dozen  natural  sciences, 
and  would  bind  together  in  one  sheaf  the  various  gleanings 
which  the  pupils  would  have  gathered  from  widely  separated 
fields.     There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  study  would  be  interest- 
ing, informing,  and  developing,  or  that  it  would  be  difficult    I 
and  in  every  sense  substantial. 

It  already  appears  that  the  nine  Conferences  have  attended 
carefully  to  three  out  of  the  five  subjects  which  it  was  the 
intention  of  the  National  Council  of  Education  that  they  should 
examine.  They  have  discussed  fully  the  proper  limits  of  the 
several  subjects  of  instruction  in  secondary  schools,  the  best 
methods  of  instruction,  and  the  best  methods  of  testing  pupils' 
attainments.  The  Conferences  were  equally  faithful  in  dis- 
cussing the  other  two  subjects  committed  to  them  by  the 
Council,  namely,  the  most  desirable  allotment  of  time  for  each 
subject,  and  the  requirements  for  admission  to  college. 

The  next  subject  which  the  Committee  of  Ten,  following  the 
guidance  of  the  Conferences,  desire  to  present  to  the  Council  is, 
therefore,  the  allotment  of  school  time  among  the  various 
subjects  of  stuHy!  It  is  the  obvious  duty  of  the  Committee, 
in  the  first  place,  to  group  together  in  tabular  form  the  numer- 
ous suggestions  on  this  subject  made  by  the  Conferences. 
3 


TIME    DEMANDS    OF    THE    CONFERENCES. 


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TIME    DEMANDS    OF    THE    CONFERENCES. 


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36  PROPER    SECONDARY    SCHOOL    SUBJECTS. 

Having  exhibited  the  programme-time  suggestions  of  the  Con- 
ferences, it  will  remain  for  the  Committee  to  construct  a 
flexible  and  comprehensive  schedule  of  studies,  based  on  the 
recommendations  of  the  Conferences. 

The  preceding  table  exhibits  the  demands  for  programme 
time  made  by  all  the  Conferences.  It  will  be  seen  at  once  that 
this  table  does  not  yield,  without  modification,  a  practical 
programme.  The  nine  Conferences  acted  separately,  and  were, 
studying  each  its  own  needs,  and  not  the  comparative  needs  of 
all  the  subjects.  It  was  not  for  them  to  balance  the  different 
interests,  but  for  each  to  present  strongly  one  interest.  It  will 
further  be  noticed  that  some  of  their  demands  are  not  specific,  — 
that  is,  they  do  not  call  for  any  specified  number  of  recitation 
periods  for  a  definite  number  of  weeks  during  a  stat^JtHiumber 
of  years.  The  Conferences  on  Languages  and  History  are 
the  most  definite  in  their  recommendations,  the  Conferences 
on  Mathematics  and  the  Sciences  being  much  less  definite. 
Table  I.  is  therefore  not  a  programme,  but  the  materials  from 
which  serviceable  programmes  may  be  constructed. 

The  Committee  of  Ten  deliberately  placed  in  this  one  table 
the  recommendations  of  the  Conferences  for  the  elementary 
grades  and  the  recommendations  for  secondary  schools,  in  order 
that  the  sequence  of  the  recommendations  for  each  subject  might 
be  clearly  brought  out.  The  recommendations  made  for  the 
secondary  schools  presuppose  in  many  cases  that  the  recom- 
mendations made  for  the  elementary  schools  haVe  been  ful- 
filled ;  or,  at  least,  in  many  cases  the  Conferences  would  have 
made  different  recommendations  for  the  secondary  schools,  if 
they  had  been  compelled  to  act  on  the  assumption  that  things 
must  remain  just  as  they  are  in  the  elementary  schools. 

At  this  point  it  is  well  to  call  attention  to  the  list  of  subjects 
which  the  Conferences  deal  with  as  proper  for  secondary  schools. 
They  are:  1.  languages  —  Latin,  Greek,  English,  German, 
and  French,  (and  locally  Spanish)  ;  '2.  mathematics  —  algebra, 
geometry,  and  trigonometry;  3.  general  history,  and  the 
intensive  study  of  special  epochs;  4.  natural  history — in- 
cluding descriptive  astronomy,  meteorology,  botany,  zoology, 
physiology,  geology,  and  ethnology,  most  of  which  subjects 
may  be  conveniently  grouped  under  the  title  of  physical 


TOTAL    INSTRUCTION    RECOMMENDED. 


37 


geography;  and  5.  physics  and  chemistry.  The  Committee  of 
Ten  assent  to  this  list,  both  for  what  it  includes  and  for  what 
it  excludes,  with  some  practical  qualifications  to  be  mentioned 
below. 

Table  II.  exhibits  the  totyl  amount  of  instruction  (estimated 
by  the  number  of  weekly  periods  assigned  to  each  subject)  to 
be  given  in  a  secondary  school  during  each  year  of  a  four  years' 
course,  on  the  supposition  that  the  recommendations  of  the 
Conferences  are  all  carried  out. 


TABLE  II. 


IST  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  YEAR. 

Latin 5    p. 

English  Literature,      3  p.  ) 
"        Composition,  2  p.  > 

German  or  French  ........  4    p. 

Algebra op. 

History 3    p. 

22    p. 


2ND  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  YEAR. 

Latin 5    p. 

Greek 5    p. 

English  Literature,     3  p. ) 


"        Composition,  2  p.  > 
German 4 


5   p. 


French    ...........  4 

Algebra,*  2*  p.  I  - 

Geometry,  2$  p.  > 

Astronomy  (12  weeks)      .....  5 


p.— 


Botany  or  Zoology 


5    p. 


History    .    ..........    3    p. 


*  Option  of  book-keeping  and  commercial 
arithmetic. 


SRD  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  YEAR. 

Latin 5 

Greek 4 

English  Literature,      3  p. 


5    p. 


"        Composition,  1  p. 
Rhetoric,  1  p. 

German 4    p 

French 4    p 

Algebra* 2\  p 

Geometry 2}  p 

Chemistry 5    p 

History 3    p 


35  p. 

*  Option  of  book-keeping  and  commercial 
arithmetic. 


4TH  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  YEAR. 

Latin 5    p. 

Greek 4    p. 

English  Literature,      3  p.  ^ 

"        Composition,  1  p.  j       ...     5    p. 

"        Grammar,       1  p.^ 

German 4    p. 

French 4    p. 

Trigonometry,  2  p.  £  yr.      )  2 

Higher  Algebra,  2  p.  }  yr. ) 

Physics 5    p. 

Anatomy,      Physiology,      and      Hy- 
giene, £  yr 5    p. 

History 3    p. 

Geol.  or  Physiography,  3  p.  %  yr. 
Meteorology,  3  p.  £  yr. 


3    p. 


38  NUMBER    OF   WEEKLY    RECITATION    PERIODS. 

The  method  of  estimating  the  amount  of  instruction  offered 
in  any  subject  by  the  number  of  recitation  periods  assigned  to 
it  each  week  for  a  given  number  of  years  or  half  years  is  in 
some  respects  an  inadequate  one,  for  it  takes  no  account 
of  the  scope  and  intensity  of  the  instruction  given  during 
the  periods ;  but  so  far  as  it  goes,  it  is  trustworthy  and  in- 
structive. It  represents  with  tolerable  accuracy  the  propor- 
tional expenditure  which  a  school  is  making  on  a  given 
subject,  and  therefore  the  proportional  importance  which  the 
school  attaches  to  that  subject.  It  also  represents  roughly 
the  proportion  of  the  pupil's  entire  school  time  which  he  can 
devote  to  a  given  subject,  provided  he  is  free  to  take  all  the 
instruction  offered  in  that  subject.  All  experience  shows] 
that  subjects  deemed  important  get  a  large  number  of  weekly! 
periods,  while  those  deemed  unimportant  get  a  small  number.! 
Moreover,  if  the  programme  time  assigned  to  a  given  subject 
be  insufficient,  the  value  of  that  subject  as  training  cannot  be 
got.,  no  matter  how  good  the  quality  of  the  instruction. 

Every  one  of  these  years,  except  the  first,  contains  much 
more  instruction  than  any  one  pupil  can  follow;  but,  looking 
at  the  bearing  of  the  table  on  the  important  question  of  educa- 
tional expenditure,  it  is  encouraging  to  observe  that  there  are 
already  many  secondary  schools  in  this  country  in  which 
quite  as  many  subjects  are  taught  as  are  mentioned  in  this 
table,  and  in  which  there  are  more  weekly  periods  of  instruc- 
tion provided  for  separate  classes  than  are  found  in  any  year  of 
the  table.  In  some  urban  high  schools  which  provide  from 
five  to  nine  different  courses  of  three  to  five  years  each,  and 
in  some  endowed  secondary  schools  which  maintain  two  or 
„•  three  separate  courses  called  Classical,  Latin-scientific,  and 
English,  or  designated  by  similar  titles,  the  total  number  of 
weekly  periods  of  unrepeated  instruction  given  to  distinct 
classes  is  even  now  larger  than  the  largest  total  of  weekly 
periods  found  in  Table  II.  The  annual  expenditure  in  such 
schools  is  sufficient  to  provide  all  the  instruction  called  for  by 
Table  II.  The  suggestions  of  the  Conferences  presuppose  that 
L  all  the  pupils  of  like  intelligence  and  maturity  in  any  subject 
study  it  in  the  same  way  and  to  the  same  extent,  so  long  as 
they  study  it  at  all, — this  being  a  point  on  which  all  the 


ONE    QUARTER    OF    SCHOOL    TIME    FOR    SCIENCE.  39 

Conferences  insist  strongly.  No  provision  is  made,  therefore, 
for  teaching  Latin,  or  algebra,  or  history  to  one  portion  of  a 
class  four  times  a  week,  and  to  another  portion  of  the  same 
class  only  thrice  or  twice  a  week.  Such  provisions  are  very 
common  in  American  schools;  but  the  recommendations  of  the 
Conferences,  if  put  into  effect,  would  do  away  with  all  expend- 
itures of  this  sort. 

It  clearly  appears  from  Table  II.  that  the  recommendations 
of  the  Conferences  on  scientific  subjects  have  been  moderate  so 
far  as  the  proposed  allotment  of  time  to  them  is  concerned. 
The  Conferences  on  Physics,  Chemistry  and  Astronomy, 
Natural  History,  and  Geography  held  one  combined  session  in 
Chicago,  and  passed  a  resolution  that  one-fourth  of  the  whole 
high  school  course  ought  to  be  devoted  to  natural  science,  their 
intention  doubtless  being  that  each  pupil  should  devote  one 
quarter  of  his  time  to  science ;  yet  if  all  the  time  asked  for 
in  secondary  schools  by  the  scientific  Conferences  be  added 
together,  it  will  appear,  first,  that  the  rare  pupil  who  should 
take  all  the  scientific  instruction  provided  would  need  for  it 
only  one  quarter  of  his  time,  and  secondly,  that  less  than 
one-sixth  of  the  whole  instruction  to  be  given  in  accordance 
with  the  combined  recommendations  of  all  the  Conferences  is 
devoted  to  subjects  of  natural  science.  The  first  year  of  the 
secondary  school  course  according  to  Table  II.  will  contain  no 
science  at  all ;  and  it  is  only  in  the  last  year  of  the  secondary 
school  that  the  proportion  of  natural  science  teaching  rises  to 
one-fourth  of  the  whole  instruction. 

In  studying  these  two  tables  which  result  from  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  Conferences,  the  Committee  of  Ten  perceived 
at  once,  that  if  the  recommendations  are  to  be  carried  out,  so 
far  as  offering  the  instruction  proposed  is  concerned,  a  selectionV 
of  studies  for  the  individual  pupil  must  be  made  in  the  second,  I 
third,  and  fourth  years  of  the  secondary  school  course.  This 
selection  will  obviously  be  made  in  different  ways  in  different 
schools.  Any  school  principal  may  say,  —  "With  the  staff  at 
my  command  I  can  teach  only  five  subjects  out  of  those  proposed 
by  the  Conferences  in  the  manner  proposed.  My  school  shall 
therefore  be  limited  to  these  five."  Another  school  may  be  able 
to  teach  in  the  thorough  manner  proposed  five  subjects,  but 


40  AN    ADJUSTMENT    OF    THE    TIME    DEMANDS. 

some  or  all  of  these  five  may  be  different  from  those  Delected  by 
the  first  school.  A  larger  or  richer  school  may  be  able  to  teach 
all  the  subjects  mentioned,  and  by  the  methods  and  with  the 
apparatus  described.  In  the  last  case,  each  pupil,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  teachers,  and  with  the  advice  of  parents  or 
friends,  may  make  choice  between  several  different  four-years' 
courses  arranged  by  the  school ;  or,  if  the  school  authorities 
prefer,  the  pupil  may  be  allowed  to  make  year  by  year  a  care- 
fully guided  choice  among  a  limited  number  of  subjects  ;  or 
these  two  methods  may  be  combined.  Selection  for  the  indi- 
vidual is  necessary  to  thoroughness,  and  to  the  imparting  of 
po_w_e_r  as  distinguished  from  information ;  for  any  large  subject 
whatever,  to  yield  its  training  value,  must  be  pursued  through 
several  years  and  be  studied  from  three  to  five  times  a  week, 
and  if  each  subject  studied  is  thus  to  claim  a  considerable 
fraction  of  the  pupil's  school  time,  then  clearly  the  individual 
pupil  can  give  attention  to  only  a  moderate  number  of 
subjects. 

In  Table  II.  the  number  of  weekly  periods  assigned  to  a  single 
subject  varies  from  two  to  five,  about  half  of  the  assignments 
being  made  for  five  periods  a  week.  There  is  an  obvious  con- 
venience in  the  number  five  because  it  ordinarily  gives  one 
period  a  day  for  five  days  in  the  week ;  but  there  is  also  an 
obvious  disadvantage  in  making  too  free  use  of  th6  number  five. 
It  practically  limits  to  three  or,  at  most,  four,  the  number  of 
subjects  which  the  individual  pupil  may  pursue  simultaneously  ; 
and  this  limit  is  inexpedient  in  a  four  years'  programme. 

The  Committee  have  therefore  prepared  the  following  modi- 
fication of  Table  II.,  using  four  as  the  standard  number  of 
weekly  periods,  except  in  the  first  year  of  a  new  language,  and  in 
the  few  cases  in  which  the  Conferences  advise  a  number  smaller 
than  four.  By  this  means  the  total  number  of  periods  is  some- 
what reduced,  except  in  the  first  year,  and  the  numbers  of 
periods  allotted  to  different  subjects  are  made  more  consonant, 
each  with  the  others.  The  result  is  only  a  correlation  and 
adjustment  of  the  recommendations  of  the  Conferences,  no  judg- 
ment or  recommendation  of  the  Committee  being  expressed 
in  it. 


RECOMMENDATIONS    OF    THE    CONFERENCES    MODIFIED.         41 

TABLE  III.       ^ 


IST  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  YEAR. 

^atin 5    p. 

English  Literature,        2p.' ) 
"          Composition,  2  p. 4 

Jerman  [or  French] 5    p. 

v^Clgebra 4    p. 

listory  of  Italy,  Spain,  and  France      3  ^p. 
Applied  Geography  (European  po- 
litical—  continental    and     oceanic 
flora  and  fauna) 4    p. 


3RD  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  YEAR. 

,atin 

Greek ' 

English  Literature,      2  p. 
'        Composition,  1  p- 

Ihetoric,                        1  p. 
German 4    p 

Trench 4    p 

Algebra,*  2  p.  ) 
Geometry,  2  p.  ' 
Physics   ......... 

History,  English  and  American 
Astronomy,      3  p.  1st  5  yr.  ) 
Meteorology,  3  p.  2nd  \  yr.  > 


4    p. 


4    p. 

4    p. 
3    p. 

3    p. 


34    p. 

*  Option  of  book-keeping  and  commer- 
cial  arithmetic. 


2ND  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  YEAR. 

Latin 4    p 

Greek 5 

English  Literature,      2  p.  ) 

"        Composition,  2  p  J        ...  4 

German,  continued 4 

^French,  begun 5 

i  Algebra,*   2  p.  ) 

Geometry,  2  p.  > 

^  Botany  or  Zoology 4   p. 

-  English  History  to  1688 3    p. 


p. 
p. 

p. 
p. 

4    p. 


33    p. 

*  Option  of  book-keeping  and   commer- 
cial arithmetic. 


4TH  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  YEAR. 

Latin 

Greek 

English  Literature,  2  p. 
"  Composition,  1  p. 
"  Grammar,  1  p. 

German 

French , 

Trigonometry,      ) 

Higher  Algebra,  > 

Chemistry 

History  (intensive)  and  Civil  Govern- 
ment      

Geology  or  Physiography,  4  p.  1st  2  yr, 

Anatomy,  Physiology,  and  Hygiene, 
4  p.  2nd  \  yr. 


4    p. 
4    p. 

4    p. 

4    p. 
4    p. 

2  p. 
4    p. 

3  p. 

^ 

33  p. 


adoption  of  the  number  four  as  the  standard  number  of 
weekly  periods  will  not  make  it  impossible  to  carry  into  effect 
the  fundamental  conception  of  all  the  Conferences,  namely,  — 
that  all  the  subjects  which  make  part  of  the  secondary  school 
course  should  be  taught  consecutively  enough  and  extensively 
enough  to  make  every  subject  yield  that  training  which  it 
is  best  fitted  to  yield,  — provided  that  the  proposed  corre- 
lation and  association  of  subjects  are  carried  out  in  practice. 
With  regard  to  the  arrangement  or  sequence  of  subjects,  the 
Committee  follow  in  this  table  the  recommendations  of  the 
Conferences  with  only  slight  modifications.  They  insert  in 
the  first  year  applied  geography,  using  the  term  in  the  sense 
in  which  it  is  used  by  the  Conference  on  Geography ;  and  they 


42  THE    SOURCE    OF    VARIOUS    PROGRAMMES. 

make  this  insertion  in  order  that  natural  science  may  be  repre- 
sented in  the  programme  of  that  year,  and  that  a  complete  break 
of  continuity,  as  regards  science  subjects,  between  the  eighth 
grade  and  the  second  year  of  the  secondary  school  may  be 
avoided.  They  have  felt  obliged  to  put  physics  into  the  third 
year,  and  chemistry  into  the  fourth,  in  order  that  the  subject 
of  physics  may  precede  meteorology  and  physiography ;  and 
they  have  slightly  increased  the  number  of  lessons  in  astronomy. 
With  regard  to  the  proportions  of  school  time  to  be  devoted  to 
the  different  subjects,  Table  III.  reduces  somewhat  the  propor- 
/tional  time  devoted  to  Latin,  English,  and  mathematics,  and 
^  increases  the  proportional  time  to  be  devoted  to  natural  science. 
In  a  secondary  school  which  teaches  all  the  subjects  recom- 
mended by  the  Conferences,  and  to  the  extent  contemplated  in 
Table  III.,  nearly  one-fifth  of  the  whole  instruction  given  will 
be  devoted  to  natural  science. 

The  Committee  regard  Table  III.  not,  of  course,  as  a  feasible 
programme,  but  as  the  possible  source  of  a  great  variety  of 
good  secondary  school  programmes.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
make  a  bad  programme  out  of  the  materials  contained  in  this 
table,  unless  indeed  the  fundamental  principles  advocated  by 
the  Conferences  should  be  neglected.  With  some  reference  to 
Table  I.,  excellent  six  years'  and  five  years'  programmes  for 
secondary  schools  can  readily  be  constructed  by  spreading  the 
subjects  contained  in  Table  III.  over  six  or  five  years  instead  of 
four,  — of  course  with  some  changes  in  the  time-allotment. 

The  details  of  the  time-allotment  for  the  several  studies 
which  enter  into  the  secondary  school  programme  m#y  seem  to 
some  persons  mechanical,  or  even  trivial  —  a  technical  matter 
to  be  dealt  with  by  each  superintendent  of  schools,  or  by  each 
principal  of  a  secondary  school,  acting  on  his  own  individual 
experience  and  judgment ;  but  such  is  not  the  opinion  of  the 
Conimittee  of  Ten.  The  Committee  believe  that  to  establish 
t  proportions  between  the  several  subjects,  or  groups  of 
Hied  subjects,  on  which  the  Conferences  were  held,  it  is 
essential  that^each  principal  subject  shall  be  taught  thoroughly 
and  extensively,  and  therefore  for  an  adequate  number  of 
periods  a  week  on  the  school  programme^  If  twice  as  much 
time  is  given  in  a  school  to  Latin  ^s  is  given  .to  mathematics, 


c 

•\ 


ADEQUATE  TIME  ALLOTMENTS  43 

the  attainments  of  the  pupils  in  Latin  ought  to  be  twice  as 
great  as  they  are  in  mathematics,  provided  that  equally  good 
work  is  done  in  the  two  subjects  ;  and  Latin  will  have  twice 
the  educational  value  of  mathematics.  Again,  if  in  a  secondary 
school  Latin  is  steadily  pursued  for  four  years  with  four  or 
five  hours  a  week  devoted  to  it,  that  subject  will  be  worth 
more  to  the  pupil  than  the  sum  of  half  a  dozen  other  subjects, 
each  of  which  has  one  sixth  of  the  time  allotted  to  Latin. 
The  good  effects  of  continuous  study  in  one  subject  will  be 
won  for  the  pupil  through  the  Latin,  and  they  wilFnot  be  won 
through  the  six  other  subjects  among  which  only  so  much  time 
as  is  devoted  to  the  single  language  has  been  divided.  If  every 
subject  studied  at  all  is  to  be  studied  thoroughly  and  consecu 
tively,  every  subject  must  receive  an  adequate  time-allotment 
If  every  subject  is  to  provide  a  substantial  mental  training,  it 
must  have  a  time-allotment  sufficient  to  produce  that  fruit^ 
Finally,  since  selection  must  be  exercised  by  or  on  behalf  of  the 
individual  pupil,  all  the  subjects  between  which  choice  is  allowed 
should  be  approximately  equivalent  to  each  other  in  seriousness, 
dignity,  and  efficacy.  Therefore  they  should  have  approxi-^ 
mately  equal  time-allotments.  The  Conferences  have  abun- 
dantly shown  how  every  subject  which  they  recommend  can 
made  a  serious  subject  of  instruction,  well  fitted  to  train 
il's  powers  of  observation,  expression,  and  reasiWH-ng. 
It  remains  for  makers  of  school  programmes  to  give  every 
subject  the  chance  of  developing  a  good  training  capacity  by 
giving  it  an  adequate  time-allotment. 

The  schedule  of  studies  contained  in  Table  III.  permits  flexi-  ' i 
bility  and  variety  in  three  respects.  First,  it  is  not  necessary 
that  any  school  should  teach  all  the  subjects  which  it  contains, 
or  any  particular  set  of  subjects,  Secondly,  it  is  not  necessary 
that  the  individual  pupil  should  everywhere  and  always  have  the 
same  number  of  periods  of  instruction  per  week.  In  one  school 
the  pupils  might  have  but  sixteen  periods  a  week,  in  another 
twenty ;  or  in  some  years  of  the  course  the  pupils  might  have  . 
more  periods  a  week  than  in  other  years.  Within  the  schedule 
many  particular  arrangements  for  the  convenience  of  a  school, 
or  for  the  welfare  of  an  individual  pupil  would  be  possible. 
Thirdly,  it  is  not  necessary  that  every  secondary  school  should 


44  SPECIMEN    PROGRAMMES. 

begin  its  work  at  the  level  which  is  assumed  as  the  starting  point 
of  secondary  instruction  in  Tables  I.,  II.,  and  III.  If  in  any 
community  the  high  school  has  no  such  grammar  school  found- 
ation beneath  it  as  is  imagined  in  Table  I.  it  will  simply  have  to 
begin  its  work  lower  down  in  the  table.  The  sequence  of  studies 
recommended  by  the  Conferences  would  still  serve  as  a  guide  ; 
but  the  demarcation  between  the  elementary  schools  and  the 
high  school  would  occur  in  that  community  at  a  lower  point. 
From  this  point  of  view,  Tables  I.,  II.,  and  III.  may  be  consid- 
ered to  set  a  standard  towards  which  secondary  schools  should 
iend  ;  and  not  a  standard  to  which  they  can  at  once  conform. 

The  adoption  of  a  programme  based  on  Table  III.  would  not 
necessarily  change  at  all  the  relation  of  a  school  to  the  colleges 
or  universities  to  which  it  habitually  sends  pupils.  Any  such 
programme  would  lend  itself  either  to  the  examination  method 
of  admission  to  college,  or  to  the  certificate  method ;  and  it 
could  be  slightly  modified  in  such  a  way  as  to  meet  the  present 
admission  requirements  of  any  college  in  the  country.  Future 
changes  in  admission  requirements  might  fairly  be  made  with  a 
view  to  the  capabilities  of  programmes  based  on  Table  III. 

As  samples  of  school  programmes  constructed  within  the 
schedules  of  Table  III.,  the  Committee  present  the  following- 
working  programmes,  whic}i  they  recommend  for  trial  wherever 
the  secondary  school  period  is  limited  to  four  years.  All  four 
combined  might,  of  course,  be  tabulated  as  one  programme 
with  options  by  subject. 

These  four  programmes  taken  together  use  all  the  subjects 
mentioned  in  Table  III.,  and  usually,  but  not  always,  to  about 
the  amounts  there  indicated.  History  and  English  suffer 
serious  contraction  in  the  Classical  programme.  All  four 
programmes  conform  to  the  general  recommendations  of  the 
Conferences,  that  is,  —  they  treat  each  subject  in  the  same 
way  for  all  pupils  with  trifling  exceptions;  they  give  time 
enough  to  each  subject  to  win  from  it  the  kind  of  mental 
training  it  is  fitted  to  supply ;  they  put  the  different  principal 
subjects  on  an  approximate  equality  so  far  as  time-allotment  is 
concerned;  they  omit  all  short  information  courses ;  and  they 
make  sufficiently  continuous  the  instruction  in  each  of  the  main 


PROLONGING    THE    SECONDARY    SCHOOL    PERIOD.  45 

/  X 

lines,   namely, |  language,    science,   history   and   mathematics,   i 

With  slight  modifications,  they  would  prepare  the  pupils  for 
admission  to  appropriate  courses  in  any  American  college  or 
university  on  the  existing  requirements ;  and  they  would  also 
meet  the  new  college  requirements  which  are  suggested  below.  \ 

In  preparing  these  programmes,  the  Committee  were  perfectly  \ 
aware  that  it  is  impossible  to  make  a  satisfactory  secondary  I 
school   programme,  limited   to  a   period   of  four  years,   and 
founded  on  the  present  elementary  school  subjects  and  methods.  I/ 
In  the  opinion  of  the  Committee,  several  subjects  now  reserved 
for  high  schools,  -/such  as  algebra,  geometry,  natural  science, 
and  foreign  languages,  —  should  be  begun   earlier  than  now^ 
and  therefore  within  the  schools  classified  as  elementary  ;  or, 
as  an  alternative, N^he  secondary  school  period  should  be  made 
to  begin  two  years  earliej^than  at  present,  leaving  six  years 
instead  of  eight  for  the  elementary  school  period.     Under  the 
present    organization,  \elenientary    subjects    and    elementary 
methods  are,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Committee,  kept  in  use 
too  lona> 

The  most  striking  differences  in  the  four  programmes  will  be 
found,  as  is  intimated  in  the  headings,  in  the  relative  amounts 
of  time  given  to  foreign  languages.  In  the  Classical  pro- 
gramme the  foreign  languages  get  a  large  share  of  time;  in  the 
English  programme  a  small  share.  In  compensation,  English 
and  history  are  more  developed  in  the  English  programme  than 
in  the  Classical. 

Many  teachers  will  say,  at  first  sight,  that  physics  comes  too 
early  in  these  programmes  and  Greek  too  late.  One  member 
of  the  Committee  is  firmly  of  the  opinion  that  Greek  comes  too 
late.  The  explanation  of  the  positions  assigned  to  these  sub- 
jects is  that  the  Committee  of  Ten  attached  great  importance  to 
two  general  principles  in  programme  making:  —  In  the  first 
place  they  endeavored  to  postpone  till  the  third  year  the  grave 
choice  between  the  Classical  course  and  the  Latin-Scientific. 
They  believed  that  this  bifurcation  should  occur  as  late  as  pos- 
sible, since  the  choice  between  these  two  roads  often  determines 
for  life  the  youth's  career.  Moreover,  they  believed  that  it  is  pos- 
sible to  make  this  important  decision  for  a  boy  on  good  grounds, 
only  when  he  has  had  opportunity  to  exhibit  his  quality  and 


POSTPONING    BIFURCATION. 


discover  his  tastes  by  making  excursions  into  all  the  principal 
fields  of  knowledge.  The  youth  who  has  never  studied  any 
but  his  native  language  cannot  know  his  own  capacity  for 
linguistic  acquisition  ;  and  the  youth  who  has  never  made  a 
chemical  or  physical  experiment  cannot  know  whether  or  not  /\  V 


TABLE    IV. 


(A 


W 
3 

£ 

CLASSICAL. 
Three  foreign  languages  (one  modern). 

LATIN-SCIENTIFIC. 
Two  foreign  languages  (one  modern). 

, 
I. 

Latin 

5'p 

5  p. 
4  p. 
4  p. 
4  p. 
3  p. 

20  p. 

English 

4  V*' 

.     4  p. 

History 

4  p' 

Physical  G-eotrraohv 

.     3  P 

20  p. 

II. 

5  p. 

English                                     .    « 

English         .... 

*G<Mu«an  [or  French]  begun      .     . 
Geometry      

.     3  p. 
.    3  p. 

German  [or  French]  begun  .... 

4.p. 
3  p. 
3  p. 
3  p. 

20  p. 

History     

.    3  p. 
20  p. 

Botany  or  Zoology    

III. 

fsn 

Latin    ... 

4  p. 
3  p. 
4  p. 

4  p. 

3  p. 
2  p. 

20  p. 

*<iiiuaL 

English 

English                         

.    3  IX- 

German  [or  French]      

Mathematics  j  Algebra     2  j 
1  Geometry  2  > 
Astronomy  ^  yr.  &  Meteorology  ^  yr. 
History     

Ig^^ma^  |  Algebra     2  ) 

.     4  p. 

20  p. 

i  Geometry  2  > 

IV. 

.     4  p. 

Latin   

4  p. 
.4  p. 

3  p. 
8  p. 

3  p. 
J3p. 
20  p. 

.    &  p. 

English  \  ils  in  C1:lssi(';l1  2  ' 
i  additional         2  ? 

3  P 

Tugottometry  &  Higher  Algebra  \ 
or 
History 

.    3  p. 
20  p. 

Trigonometry  &  Higher  Algebra  \ 
or 
Histoiy                                                   ) 
Geology  or  Physiography              |  yr. 
and 
Anatomy,  Physiology,  &Hygiene  |yr. 

*  In  any  school  in  which  Greek  can  be  better  taught  than  a  modern  language,  or  in  which 
local  public  opinion  or  the  history  of  the  school  makes  it  desirable  to  teach  Greek  in  an  ample 
way,  Greek  may  be  substituted  for  German  or  French  in  the  second  year  of  the  Classical 
programme. 


REPRESENTATIVE    SUBJECTS    IN    THE    FIRST    TWO    YEARS.       47 

he  has  a  taste  for  exact  science.  The  wisest  teacher,  or  the 
most  observant  parent,  can  hardly  predict  with  confidence  a 
boy's  gift  for  a  subject  which  he  has  never  touched.  In  these 
considerations  the  Committee  found  strong  reasons  for  post- 
poning bifurcation,  and  making  the  subjects  of  the  first  two 


TABLE   IV.   (continued). 


MODERN  LANGUAGES. 
Two  foreign  languages  (both  modern). 


French  [or  German]  begun    ....  5  p. 

English 4  p. 

Algebra 4  p. 

History 4  p. 

Physical  Geography 3  p. 

20  p. 


ENGLISH. 
One  foreign  language  (ancient  or  modern). 


Latin,  or  German,  or  French 

English 

Algebra    

History 


.  5  p. 

.  4  p. 

,  4  p. 

.  4  p. 

Physical  Geography 3  p. 

20  p. 


II. 


French  [or  German] 4  p. 

English 2  p. 

German  [or  French]  begun  .    .     .     .  5  p. 

Geometry 3  p. 

Physics 3  p. 

Botany  or  Zoology 3  p. 

20  p. 


Latin,' or  German,  or  French      .     .  5  or  4  p. 

English 3  or  4  p. 

Geometry 3  p. 

Physics 3  p. 


History 3  p. 

Botany  or  Zoology 3  p. 

20  p. 


III. 


French  [or  German] 4  p. 

English 3  p. 

German  [or  French] 4  p. 

Mathematics  j  A1*ebra    2  }  ....  4  p. 
i  Geometry  2 ' 

Astronomy  £  yr.  &  Meteorology  5  yr.  3  p. 

History 2  p. 

20  p. 


Latin,  or  German,  or  French 
English  f^  in  others  3, 

I  additional    2  J    ' 

Mathematics  j "Algebra     2} 
(  Geometry  2  ' 


4  p. 

5  p. 
4  p. 


Astronomy  |  yr.  &  Meteorology  5  yr.    3  p. 

History  \  as  in  tlie  Latm-Scientific  2  j.     4  p 
<  additional    /  2  J 

20  p. 


English 


French  [or  German] 

as  in  Classical  2  ) 

additional         2 ' 

German  [or  French] 

Chemistry 

Trigonometry  &  Higher  Algebra  3  ) 

or 

History 
Geology  or  Physiography  5  yr. 

and 
'Anatomy,  Physiology,  &  Hygiene  £yr. 


3  p. 

4  p. 

4  p. 
3  p. 

3  p. 


3  p. 


Latin,  or  German,  or  French     .     .    . 
English  {as  in  Classical  2  | 
I  additional         2  > 

Chemistry 

Trigonometry  &  Higher  Algebra  .     . 

History 

Geology  or  Physiography  \  yr. 

and 
Anatomy,  Physiology,  &  Hygiene  £yr.  • 


4  p. 

4  p. 
3  p. 

y  P. 

.">  p. 
J3, 

20  p. 


20  p. 


years  as  truly  representative  as  possible.     Secondly,  inasmuch 
as  many  boys  and  girls  who  begin  the  secondary  school  course 


48  EXPLANATION    OF    THE    SAMPLE    PROGRAMMES. 

do  not  stay  in  school  more  than  two  years.,-  the  Committee 
thought  it  important  to  select  the  studies  of  the  first  two  years 
in  such  a  way  that  linguistic,  historical,  mathematical,  and 
scientific  subjects  should  all  be  properly  represented.  Natural 
history  being  represented  by  physical  geography,  the  Commit- 
tee wished  physics  to  represent  the  inorganic  sciences  of 
precision.  The  first  two  years  of  any  one  of  the  four  pro- 
grammes presented  above  will,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Com- 
mittee, be  highly  profitable  by  themselves  to  children  who  can 
go  no  farther. 

Although  the  Committee  thought  it  expedient  to  include 
among  the  four  programmes,  one  which  included  neither  Latin 
nor  Greek,  and  one  which  included  only  one  foreign  language 
(which  might  be  either  ancient  or  modern),  they  desired  to 
affirm  explicitly  their  unanimous  opinion  that,  under  existing 
conditions  in  the  United  States  as  to  the  training  of  teachers 
and  the  provision  of  necessary  means  of  instruction,  the  two 
programmes  called  respectively  Modern  Languages  and  English 
must  in  practice  be  distinctly  inferior  to  the  other  two. 

In  the  construction  of  the  sample  programmes  the  Committee 
adopted  twenty  as  the  maximum  number  of  weekly  periods, 
\J  but  with  two"  qualifications,  namely,  that  at  least  five  of  the 
twenty  periods  should  be  given  to  unprepared  work,  and  that 
laboratory  subjects  should  have  double  periods  whenever  that 
prolongation  should  be  possible. 

The  omission  of  music,  drawing,  and  elocution  from  the 
programmes  offered  by  the  Committee  was  not  intended  to 
imply  that  these  subjects  ought  to  receive  no  systematic 
attention.  It  Avas  merely  thought  best  to  leave  it  to  local 
school  authorities  to  determine,  without  suggestions  from  the 
Committee,  how  these  subjects  should  be  introduced  into  the 
programmes  in  addition  to  the  subjects  reported  on  by  the 
Conferences. 

The  Committee  were  governed  in  the  construction  of  the 
first  three  programmes  by  the  rule  laid  down  by  the  language 
Conferences,  namely,  that  two  foreign  languages  should  not  be 
begun  at  the  same  time.  To  obey  this  rule  is  to  accept  strict 
limitations  in  the  construction  of  a  four  years'  Classical  pro- 
gramme. A  five  years'  or  six  years'  programme  can  be  made 


ECONOMY    OF    THE    PROGRAMMES MISSING    SUBJECTS.        49 

much  more  easily  under  this  restriction.  The  Committee  were 
anxious  to  give  five  weekly  periods  to  every  foreign  language 
in  the  year  when  it  was  first  attacked ;  but  did  not  find  it 
possible  to  do  so  in  every  case. 

The  four  programmes  can  be  carried  out  economically  in  a 
single  school;  because,  with  a  few  inevitable  exceptions,  the 
several  subjects  occur  simultaneously  in  at  least  three  pro- 
grammes and  with  the  same  number  of  weekly  periods.  ' 

Numerous  possible  transpositions  of  subjects  will  occur  to 
every  experienced  teacher  who  examines  these  specimen  pro- 
grammes. Thus,  in  some  localities  it  would  be  better  to  trans- 
pose French  and  German ;  the  selection  and  order  of  science 
subjects  might  be  varied  considerably  to  suit  the  needs  or  cir- 
cumstances of  different  schools ;  and  the  selection  and  order 
of  historical  subjects  admit  of  large  variety. 

Many  subjects  now  familiar  in  secondary  school  courses  of  ] 
study  do  notf  appear  in  Table  III.  or  in  the  specimen  pro-  : 
grammes  given  above ;  but  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the 
omitted  subjects  are  necessarily  to  be  neglected.  If  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  Conference  were  carried  out,  some  of  the 
omitted  subjects  would  be  better  dealt  with  under  any  one  of 
the  above  programmes  than  they  are  now  under  familiar  high 
school  and  academy  programmes  in  which  they  figure  as  separ- 
ate subjects.  Thus,  drawing  does  not  appear  as  a  separate  sub- 
ject in  the  specimen  programmes ;  but  the  careful  reader  of  the 
Conference  reports  will  notice  that  drawing,  both  mechanical 
and  free-hand,  is  to  be  used  in  the  study  of  history,  botany, 
zoology,  astronomy,  meteorology,  physics,  geography,  and 
physiography,  and  that  the  kind  of  drawing  recommended  by 
the  Conferences  is  the  most  useful  kind,  —  namely,  that  which 
is  applied  to  recording,  describing,  and  discussing  observa- 
tions. This  abundant  use  of  drawing  might  not  prevent  the 
need  of  some  special  instruction  in  drawing,  but  it  ought  to 
diminish  the  number  of  periods  devoted  exclusively  to  drawing. 
Again,  neither  ethics  nor  economics,  neither  metaphysics  nor 
aesthetics  appear  in  the  programmes ;  but  in  the  large  number 
of  periods  devoted  to  English  and  history  there  would  be  some 
tim.  "  "  -n  in  the  elements  of  these  subjects. 

irriting  required  of  pupils,  or 
4     ' 


50  SATURDAY    WORK ASSISTANTS. 

recommended  to  them,  that  the  fundamental  ideas  on  these 
important  topics  are  to  be  inculcated.  Again,  the  industrial 
and  cjDmrnejrcial  subjects  do  not  appear  in  these  programmes ; 
but  book-keeping  and  commercial  arithmetic  are  provided  for 
by  the  option  for  algebra  designated  in  Table  III.  ;  and  if  it 
were  desired  to  provide  more  amply  for  subjects  thought  to 
have  practical  importance  in  trade  or  the  useful  arts,  it  would 
be  easy  to  provide  options  in  such  subjects  for  some  of  the 
science  contained  in  the  third  and  fourth  years  of  the  "English" 
programme. 

The  Committee  of  Ten  think  much  would  be  gained  if,  in 
addition  to  the  usual  programme  hours,  a  portion  of  Saturday 
morning  should  be  regularly  used  for  laboratory  work  in  the 
scientific  subjects.  Laboratory  work  requires  more  consecutive 
time  than  the  ordinary  period  of  recitation  affords ;  so  that  an 
hour  and  a  half  is  about  the  shortest  advantageous  period  for 
a  laboratory  exercise.  The  Committee  venture  to  suggest 
further  that,  in  addition  to  the  regular  school  sessions  in 
the  morning,  one  afternoon  in  every  week  should  be  used  for 
out-of-door  instruction  in  geography,  botany,  zoology,  and 
geology,  these  afternoon  and  Saturday  morning  exercises  being 
counted  as  regular  work  for  the  teachers  who  conduct  them. 
In  all  laboratory  and  field  work,  the  Committee  believe  that  it 
will  be  found  profitable  to  employ  as  assistants  to  the  regular 
teachers,  —  particularly  at  the  beginning  of  laboratory  and 
field  work  in  each  subject,  —  recent  graduates  of  the  secondary 
schools  who  have  themselves  followed  the  laboratory  and  field 
courses  ;  for  at  the  beginning  the  pupil  will  need  a  large  amount 
of  individual  instruction  in  the  manipulation  of  specimens,  the 
use  of  instruments,  and  the  prompt  recording  of  observations. 
One  teacher  without  assistants  cannot  supervise  effectively  the 
work  of  thirty  or  forty  pupils,  either  in  $he  laboratory  or 
in  the  field.  The  laboratory  work  on  Saturday  mornings  could 
be  maintained  throughout  the  school  year :  the  afternoon 
excursions  would  of  course  be  difficult,  or  impossible,  for 
perhaps  a  third  of  the  school  year. 

In  general,  the  Committee  of  Ten  have  endeavored  to  empha- 
size the  principles  which  should  govern  all  secondary  school 
programmes,  and  to  show  how  the  main  recommendations  of 


REQUIREMENTS    FOR    ADMISSION    TO    COLLEGE.  51 

the  several  Conferences  may  be  carried  out  in  a  variety  of 
feasible  programmes. 

One  of  the  subjects  which  the  Committee  of  Ten  were  directed 
to   consider  was  req^nremejits_Ji^^  ;    and 

particularly  they  were  expected  to  report  on  uniform  require- 
ments for  admission  to  colleges,  as  well  as  on  a  uniform 
secondary  school  programme.  Almost  all  the  Conferences 
have  something  to  say  about  the  best  mode  of  testing  the 
attainments  of  candidates  at  college  admission  examinations; 
and  some  of  them,  notably  the  Conferences  on  History  and 
Geography,  make  very  explicit  declarations  concerning  the 
nature  of  college  examinations.  The  improvements  desired  in 
the  mode  of  testing  the  attainments  of  pupils  who  have  pursued 
in  the  secondary  schools  the  various  subjects  which  enter  into 
the  course  will  be  found  clearly  described  tinder  each  subject 
in  the  several  Conference  reports ;  but  there  is  a  general 
principle  concerning  the  relation  of  the  secondary  schools  to 
colleges  which  the  Committee  of  Ten,  inspired  and  guided  by 
the  Conferences,  feel  it  their  duty  to  set  forth  with  all  possible 
distinctness. 

I  //"  The  secondary  schools  of  the  United  States,  taken  as  a  whole, 
'  I  do  not  exist  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  boys  and  girls  for 
|\  colleges.  Only  an  insignificant  percentage  of  the  graduates  of 
these  schools  go  to  colleges  or  scientific  schools.  Their  main 
function  is  to  prepare  for  the  duties  of  life  that  small  proportion 
of  all  the  children  in  the  country  —  a  proportion  small  in 
number,  but  very  important  to  the  welfare  of  the  nation  —  who 
show  themselves  able  to  profit  by  an  education  prolonged  to 
the  eighteenth  year,  and  whose  parents  are  able  to  support 
them  while  they  remain  so  long  at  school.  There  are,  to  be 
sure,  a  few  private  or  endowed  secondary  schools  in  the 
country,  which  make  it  their  principal  object  to  prepare  students 
for  the  colleges  and  universities ;  but  the  number  of  these 
schools  is  relatively  small.  A  secondary  school  programme  in 
tended  for  national  use  must  therefore  be  made  for  those  children 
whose  education  is  not  to  be  pursued  beyond  the  secondary 
school.  The  preparation  of  a  few  pupils  for  college  or 
scientific  school  should  in  the  ordinary  secondary  school  be  the 


52  THE    PASSAGE    FEOM    SCHOOL    TO    COLLEGE. 

incidental,  and  not  the  principal  object.  At  the  same  time,  it 
is  obviously  desirable  that  the  colleges  and  scientific  schools 
should  be  accessible  to  all  boys  or  girls  who  have  completed 
creditably  the  secondary  school  course.  Their  parents  often  do 
not  decide  for  them,  four  years  before  the  college  age,  that  they 
shall  go  to  college,  and  they  themselves  may  not,  perhaps,  feel 
the  desire  to  continue  their  education  until  near  the  end  of  their 
school  course.  In  order  that  any  successful  graduate  of  a  good 
secondary  school  should  be  free  to  present  himself  at  the  gates 
of  the  college  or  scientific  school  of  his  choice,  it  is  necessary 
'that  the  colleges  and  scientific  schools  of  the  country  should 
accept  for  admission  to  appropriate  courses  of  their  instruction 
the  attainments  of  any  youth  who  has  passed  creditably  through 
a  good  secondary  school  course,  no  matter  to  what  group  of 
subjects  he  may  have  mainly  devoted  himself  in  the  secondary 
^/school.  As  secondary  school  courses  are  now  too  often 
arranged,  this  is  not  a  reasonable  request  to  prefer  to  the 
colleges  and  scientific  schools ;  because  the  pupil  may  now  go 
through  a  secondary  school  course  of  a  very  feeble  and  scrappy 
nature  —  studying  a  little  of  many  subjects  and  not  much  of  any 
one,  getting,  perhaps,  a  little  information  in  a  variety  of  fields, 
but  nothing  which  can  be  called  a  thorough  training.  Now  the 
I  recommendations  of  the  nine  Conferences,  if  well  carried  out, 
O  might  fairly  be  held  to  make  all  the  main  subjects  taught  in  the 
secondary  schools  of  equal  rank  for  the  purposes  of  admission  to 
.college  or  scientific  school.  They  would  all  be  taught  consecu- 
tively and  thoroughly,  and  would  all  be  carried  on  in  the  same 
spirit ;  they  would  all  be  used  for  training  the  powers  of  obser- 
vation, memory,  expression,  and  reasoning  ;  and  they  would  all 
be  good  to  that  end,  although  differing  among  themselves  in 
quality  and  substance.  In  preparing  the  programmes  of  Table 
IV.,  the  Committee  had  in  mind  that  the  requirements  for 
admission  to  colleges  might,  for  schools  which  adopted  a  pro- 
gramme derived  from  that  table,  be  simplified  to  a  considerable 
extent,  though  not  reduced.  A  college  might  say, — We  will 
accept  for  admission  any  groups  of  studies  taken  from  the 
secondary  school  programme,  provided  that  the  sum  of  the  stu- 
dies in  each  of  the  four  years  amounts  to  sixteen,  or  eighteen, 
or  twenty  periods  a  week, — as  may  be  thought  best, — and 


ARTICULATING    SCHOOLS    AND    COLLEGES.  53 

provided,  further,  that  in  each  year  at  least  four  of  the  subjects 
presented  shall  have  been  pursued  at  least  three  periods  a  week,/ 
and  that  at  least  three  of  the  subjects  shall  have  been  pursued 
three  years  or  more.  For  the  purposes  of  this  reckoning  ^ 
natural  history,  geography,  meteorology,  and  astronomy  might 
l)e  grouped  together  as  one  subject.  Every  youth  who 
entered  college  would  have  spent  four  years  in  studying  a  few 
subjects  thoroughly ;  and,  on  the  theory  that  all  the  subjects 
are  to  be  considered  equivalent  in  educational  rank  for  the  pur- 
poses of  admission  to  college,  it  would  make  no  difference 
which  subjects  he  had  chosen  from  the  programme  —  he  would 
have  had  four  years  of  strong  and  effective  mental  training. 
The  Conferences  on  Geography  and  Modern  Languages  make 
the  most  explicit'  statement  to  the  effect  that  college  require- 
ments for  admission  should  coincide  with  high-school  require- 
ments for  graduation.  The  Conference  on  English  is  of  opinion 
"that  no  student  should  be  admitted  to  college  who  shows  in 
his  English  examination  and  his  other  examinations  that  he  is 
very  deficient  in  ability  to  write  good  English."  This  recom- 
mendation suggests  that  an  ample  English  course  in  the  sec- 
ondary school  should  be  required  of  all  persons  who  intend  to 
enter  college.  It  would  of  course  be  possible  for  any  college 
to  require  for  admission  any  one  subject,  or  any  group  of 
subjects,  in  the  table,  and  the  requirements  of  different 
colleges,  while  all  kept  within  the  table,  might  differ  in 
many  respects ;  but  the  Committee  are  of  opinion  that  the 
satisfactory  completion  of  any  one  of  the  four  years'  courses  of 
study  embodied  in  the  foregoing  programmes  should  admit  to 
corresponding  courses  in  colleges  and  scientific  schools.  They 
believe  that  this  close  articulation  between  the  secondary  schools 
and  the  higher  institutions  would  be  advantageous  alike  for  the 
schools,  the  colleges,  and  the  country. 

Every  reader  of  this  report  and  of  the  reports  of  the  nine 
Conferences  will  be  satisfied  that  to  carry  out  the  improve- 
ments proposed  more  highly  trained  teachers  will  be  needed 
than  are  now  ordinarily  to  be  found  for  the  service  of  the 
elementary  and  secondary  schools.  The  Committee  of  Ten 
desire  to  point  out  some  of  the  means  of  procuring  these  better 


54  GETTING    TEACHERS    MORE    HIGHLY    TRAINED. 

trained  teachers.  For  the  further  instruction  of  teachers  in 
actual  service,  three  agencies  already  in  existence  may  be  much 
better  utilized  than  they  now  are.  The  Summer  Schools  which 
many  universities  now  maintain  might  be  resorted  to  by  much 
larger  numbers  of  teachers,  particularly  if  some  aid,  such  as 
the  payment  of  tuition  fees  and  travelling  expenses,  should  be 
given  to  teachers  who  are  willing  to  devote  half  of  their 
vacations  to  study,  by  the  cities  and  towns  which  these 
teachers  serve.  Secondly,  in  all  the  towns  and  cities  in  which 
colleges  and  universities  are  planted,  these  colleges  or  univer- 
sities may  usefully  give  stated  courses  of  instruction  in  the 
main  subjects  used  in  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools 
to  teachers  employed  in  those  towns  and  cities.  This  is  a 
reasonable  service  which  the  colleges  and  universities  may 
render  to  their  own  communities.  Thirdly,  a  superintendent 
who  has  himself  become  familar  with  the  best  mode  of  teaching 
any  one  of  the  subjects  which  enter  into  the  school  course 
can  always  be  a  very  useful  instructor  for  the  whole  body  of 
teachers  under  his  charge.  A  real  master  of  any  one  subject 
will  always  have  many  suggestions  to  make  to  teachers  of 
other  subjects.  The  same  is  true  of  the  principal  of  a  high 
school,  or  other  leading  teacher  in  a  town  or  city.  In  every 
considerable  city  school  system  the  best  teacher  in  each  depart- 
ment of  instruction  should  be  enabled  to  give  part  of  his  time 
to  helping  the  other  teachers  by  inspecting  and  criticising  their 
work,  and  showing  them,  both  by  precept  and  example,  how 
to  do  it  better. 

In  regard  to  preparing  young  men  and  women  for  the 
business  of  teaching,  the  country  has  a  right  to  expect  much 
more  than  it  has  yet  obtained  from  the  colleges  and  normal 
schools.  The  common  expectation  of  attainment  for  pupils  of 
the  normal  schools  has  been  altogether  too  low  the  country 
over.  The  normal  schools,  as  a  class,  themselves  need  better 
apparatus,  libraries,  programmes,  and  teachers.  As  to  the 
colleges,  it  is  quite  as  much  an  enlargement  of  sympathies  as  an 
improvement  of  apparatus  or  of  teaching  that  they  need. 
They  ought  to  take  more  interest  than  they'  have  heretofore 
done,  not  only  in  the  secondary,  but  in  the  elementary  schools  : 
and  they  ought  to  take  pains  to  fit  men  well  for  the  duties 


UNIFORM    DATES    FOR    ADMISSION    EXAMINATIONS.  55 

of  a  school  superintendent.  They  already  train  a  considerable 
number  of  the  best  principals  of  high  schools  and  academies; 
but  this  is  not  sufficient.  They  should  take  an  active  interest, 
through  their  presidents,  professors,  and  other  teachers,  in 
improving  the  schools  in  their  respective  localities,  and  in  con- 
tributing to  the  thorough  discussion  of  all  questions  affecting 
the  welfare  of  both  the  elementary  and  the  secondary  schools. 

Finally,  the  Committee  venture  to  suggest,  in  the  interest 
of  secondary  schools,  that  uniform  dates  —  such  as  the  last 
Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday,  or  the  third  Monday,  Tuesday, 
and  Wednesday  of  June  and  September  —  be  established  for 
the  admission  examinations  of  colleges  and  scientific  schools 
throughout  the  United  States.  It  is  a  serious  inconvenience 
for  secondary  schools  which  habitually  prepare  candidates  for 
several  different  colleges  or  scientific  schools  that  the  admission 
examinations  of  different  institutions  are  apt  to  occur  on 
different  dates,  sometimes  rather  widely  separated. 

The  Committee  also  wish  to  call  attention  to  the  service 
which  Schools  of  Law,  Medicine,  Engineering,  and  Technology, 
whether  connected  writh  universities  or  not,  can  render  to 
secondary  education  by  arranging  their  requirements  for  ad- 
mission, as  regards  selection  and  range  of  subjects,  in  con- 
formity with  the  courses  of  study  recommended  by  the  Com- 
mittee. By  bringing  their,  entrance  requirements  into  close 
relation  with  any  or  all  of  the  programmes  recommended  for 
secondary  schools,  these  professional  schools  can  give  valuable 
support  to  high  schools,  academies,  and  preparatory  schools. 


CHARLES  W.  ELIOT, 
WILLIAM  T.  HARRIS, 
JAMES  B.  ANGELL, 
JOHN  TETLOW, 
JAMES  M.  TAYLOR, 
OSCAR  D.  ROBINSON, 
JAMES  H.  BAKER, 
RICHARD  H.  JESSE, 
JAMES  C.  MACKENZIE, 

HENRY  C.  KING. 
4  December,  1893. 


56  MINORITY    REPORT. 


President  Baker  signs  the  above  report,  but  adds  the 
following  statement :  — 

To  THE  NATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  EDUCATION  : 

I  beg  leave  to  note  some  exceptions  taken  to  parts  of  the 
Report  of  the  Committee  of  Ten.  Had  the  Committee  not 
been  limited  in  time,  doubtless  fuller  discussion  would  have 
resulted  in  modifying  some  statements  embodied  in  the  report. 
The  great  value  of  the  reports  of  the  Conferences  upon  the 
subjects  referred  to  them,  as  to  matter,  place,  time,  methods, 
adequate  and  continuous  work  for  each  subject,  and  identity  of 
work  in  different  courses,  and  the  masterly  summary  and  tabu- 
lation of  their  recommendations,  made  by  the  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  of  Ten,  can  but  invite  cordial  commendation. 
Objections  are  raised  to  parts  of  the  special  work  of  the 
Committee. 

1.  I  cannot  endorse  expressions  that  appear  to  sanction  the 
idea  that  the  choice  of  subjects  in  secondary  schools  may  be  a 
matter  of  comparative  indifference.  I  note  especially  the  fol- 
lowing sentences,  referring  the  reader  to  their  context  for 
accurate  interpretation. 

"Any  school  principal  may  say:  —  'With  the  staff  at  my 
command  I  can  teach  only  five  subjects  out  of  those  proposed 
by  the  Conferences  in  the  manner  proposed.  My  school  shall, 
therefore,  be  limited  to  these  five.'  Another  school  may  be 
able  to  teach  in  the  thorough  manner  proposed  five  subjects,  but 
some  or  all  of  these  five  may  be  different  from  those  selected  by 
the  first  school." 

"  If  twice  as  much  time  is  given  in  a  school  to  Latin  as  is 
given  to  mathematics,  the  attainments  of  the  pupils  in  Latin 
ought  to  be  twice  as  great  as  they  are  in  mathematics,  provided 
that  equally  good  work  is  done  in  the  two  subjects ;  and  Latin 
will  have  twice  the  educational  value  of  mathematics"." 

"  The  schedule  of  studies  contained  in  Table  III.  permits 
flexibility  and  variety  in  three  respects.  First,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  any  school  should  tench  all  the  subjects  which  it 
contains,  or  any  particular  set  of  subjects." 


MINORITY    REPORT.  57 

"  Every  youth  who  entered  college  would  have  spent  four 
years  in  studying  a  few  subjects  thoroughly  ;  and  on  the  theory 
that  all  the  subjects  are  to  be  considered  equivalent  in  educa- 
tional rank  for  the  purpose  of  admission  to  college,  it  would 
make  no  difference  which  subjects  he  had  chosen  from  the 
programme  —  he  would  have  had  four  years  of  strong  and 
effective  mental  training." 

All  such  statements  are  based  upon  the  theory  that,  for  the 
purposes  of  general  education,  one  study  is  as  good  as 
another,  —  a  theory  which  appears  to  me  to  ignore  Philosophy, 
1  Psychology  and  Science  of  Education.  It  is  a  theory  which 
makes  education  formal  and  does  not  consider  the  nature  and 
value  of  the  content.  Power  comes  through  knowledge ;  we 
can  not  conceive  of  observation  and  memory  in  the  abstract. 
The  world  which  offers  to  the  human  mind  several  distinct 
views  is  the  world  in  which  our  power  that  comes  through 
knowledge  is  to  be  used,  the  world  which  we  are  to  understand 
and  enjoy.  The  relation  between  the  subjective  power  and  the 
objective  —  or  subjective  —  knowledge  is  inseparable  and  vital. 
On  any  other  theory,  for  general  education,  we  might  well 
consider  the  study  of  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  as  valuable  as 
that  of  physics,  and  Choctaw  as  important  as  Latin.  Second- 
ary school  programmes  can  not  well  omit  mathematics,  or 
science,  or  history,  or  literature,  or  the  culture  of  the  ancient 
classics.  An  education  which  gives  a  view  in  all  directions  is 
the  work  of  elementary  and  secondary  schools.  Such  an 
education  is  the  necessary  preparation  for  the  special  work  of 
the  university  student.  If  I  rightly  understood,  the  majority 
of  the  Committee  rejected  the  theory  of  equivalence  of  studies 
for  general  education. 

Studies  vary  in  value  for  the  training  of  the  different  powers, 
and  for  this  additional  reason  the  choice  can  not  be  regarded 
as  a  matter  of  indifference. 

The  training  of  "  observation,  memory,  expression  and 
reasoning"  (inductive)  is  a  very  important  part  of  education, 
but  is  not  all  of  education.  The  imagination,  deductive  reason- 
ing, the  rich  possibilities  of  emotional  life,  the  education  of  the 
will  through  ethical  ideas  and  correct  habit,  all  are  to  be  con- 


58  MINORITY    REPORT.     , 

sidered  in  a  scheme  of  learning.     Ideals  are  to  be  added  to  the 
scientific  method. 

The  dilemma  which  appears  on  an  examination  of  the  time 
demands  of  the  various  conferences  offers  to  the  programme 
maker  the  alternatives  of  omitting  essential  subjects  and  of  a 
rational  adjustment  of  the  time  element,  while  retaining  all 
essential  subjects.  Reason  and  experience  point  toward  the 
latter  alternative.  By  wise  selection  of  matter  within  the  lines 
of  study  adequate  and  consecutive  time  can  be  given  to  each. 

2.  The  language  of  the  second  paragraph  following  Table  II. 
might  be  misconstrued  to  mean  that  the  Committee  favor  the 
multiplication  of  courses  with  a  loss  of  the  thoroughness  attain- 
able when  the  teaching  force  is  devoted  to  one  or  two  courses. 
Intension  rather  than  extension  of  effort,  both  in  respect  to  the 
number  of  courses  and  in  respect    to  the  number  of  studies 
or   topics    under    each    principal    subject,    is    to    be    strongly 
recommended . 

3.  It  may  seem  trivial   to   offer  criticism  of  the   specimen 
programmes  made  by  the  Committee,  and  yet  I  believe  that 
each  member  felt  that  with  ample  deliberation  results  somewhat 
different  would  have  been  reached.     Note  for  instance  that  in 
some   of  the    programmes  history  is    entirely  omitted   in  the 
second  year,  and  physics  is  given  only  three  hours  per  week, 
—  no  more  time  than  is  allowed  for  botany  or  zoology.     There 
are  many  symmetrical  secondary  school  programmes  in  actual 
operation   today   which   furnish   continuous   instruction   in   all 
important  subjects  throughout  the  four  years,  allowing  to  each 
an  amount  of  time  adequate  to  good  results.     For  most  high 
schools  the  first,  the  Classical  programme,  and  the  last  pro- 
gramme, the  one  offering  one  foreign  language,  will  commend 
themselves  because  they  are  economical,  and  they  combine  a 
good  finishing  course  with  adequate  college  preparation. 

4.  On  the  basis  of  the  tabulated  results  of  the  Conferences 
I  believe  that  by   earnest  scientific  examination  a  scheme  of 
work  can  be  formulated  that  will  meet  the  views  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee  and  of  most  educators.     As  an  after- 
thought it  may  be  an  occasion  for  regret  that  the   strength  of 
the  discussion  was  not  devoted  to  Table  III.       Instead  of  con- 


MINORITY    REPORT.  59 

sidering  the  work  of  the  Committee  as  ended,  I  would  recommend 
that  the  National  Council  hold  itself  responsible  for  further 
examination  of  the  data  furnished  by  the  Conferences.  I  have 
not  presumed  to  offer  a  substitute  report,  because  I  believe  that 
the  importance  of  the  work  demands  further  effort  of  an  entire 
Committee. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

JAMES    H.    BAKER. 


KEPOKTS   OF   THE   COKFEKENCES. 


LATIN. 

PRESIDENT  CHARLES  W.  ELIOT,  CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TEN 

OF  THE  NATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  EDUCATION  :  — 

The  Conference  upon  the  subject  of  Latin  respectfully  submits  the 
following  report :  — 

In  seven  sessions  of  nearly  three  hours  each  the  Conference 'dis- 
cussed all  the  questions  suggested  in  the  circular  of  instructions, 
except  the  last,  respecting  the  proper  limit  between  the  preliminary 
and  the  final  examination  for  admission  to  college  ;  and  on  most  of  the 
points -presented,  as  well  as  on  several  not  suggested  in  the  circular, 
arrived  at  unanimous  or  nearly  unanimous  conclusions,  which  will  be 
found  expressed  in  the  Recommendations  appended  to  this  Report. t 

The  first  question  considered  was  whether  the  requirements  in 
Latin  for  admission  to  college  ought  to  be  increased. 

It  would  be  a  very  desirable  gain  to  the  stud}'  of  Latin  in  our 
universities  and  colleges  if  the  present  standard  of  admission 
requirements  could  be  raised  ;  and  the  experience  of  other  countries 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  a  higher  standard  is  feasible.  But,  in 
view  of  the  just  demands  for  more  and  better  work  in  several  other 
subjects  of  the  preparatory  course,  it  seemed  clear  to  the  Conference 
that  no  increase  in  the  quantity  of  the  preparation  in  Latin  should  be 
asked  for.  It  is  fully  believed,  however,  that,  through  the  careful 
choice  of  teachers,  and  the  employment  of  better  methods,  a  gain  in 
the  quality  of  the  preparation  can  be  secured  without  the  expenditure 
of  more  time  than  is  now  generally  given  in  the  better  schools.  See 
Recommendations  1,  6,  11,  and  14,  at  the  end  of  this  Report. 

Upon  the  subject  first  suggested  in  the  memorandum  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ten,  —  namely,  the  question  of  the  age  at  which  the  study 
of  Latin  should  be  begun,  —  a  comparison  of  the  customs  existing  in 
Europe  and  in  this  country  will  be  suggestive.  In  the  United  States, 
the  average  age  is  about  fifteen  years,  and  probably  above  that 
number  rather  than  below  it.1  In  England  and  on  the  Continent  the 

1  At  some  private  and  endowed  public  schools  in  this  country,  however,  the 
age  is  not  far  from  twelve.  In  Michigan,  successful  experiments  have  Ijeen 
made  in  introducing  the  study  of  Latin  into  the  grammar-school ;  and  the  trial 
is  also  being  made  in  certain  grammar-schools  in  Massachusetts. 


LATIN.  Ql 

study  is  seldom  begun  so  late  as  at  the  age  of  twelve,  and  much 
oftener  between  the  ages  of  nine  and  eleven ;  in  other  words,  from 
four  to  six  years  earlier  than  with  us.  ^The  reasons  in  favor  of  an 
early  age  are  not  far  to  seek.  (1)  Latin  is  a  difficult  language,  and 
long  stud}*  is  needed  to  make  it  yield  its  best  fruits.  (2)  The  rudi- 
ments of  the  subject,  and  in  particular  the  forms,  can  be  more  easily 
and  quickly  mastered  at  an  early  age  ;  and,  conversely,  the  study  of 
these  things  constitutes  a  less  agreeable  and  less  suitable  discipline 
for  a  mind  that  is  becoming  conscious  of  its  powers.  A  radical 
change  cannot  be  brought  about  in  this  country  at  once  ;  but  it  is 
hoped  that  such  a  modification  of  grammar-school  courses  can  be 
made  without  delay  as  to  render  it  possible  that  the  high-school 
course,  —  and  with  it  the  subject  of  Latin,  —  may  be  begun  not  later 
than  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  See  Recommendations  2  and  3. 

With  regard  to  tfie  number  of  years  and  the  number  of  hours  a 
week  devoted  to  the  study  of  Latin,  the  actual  practice  of  the  schools 
in  this  country  varies  greatly.  In  twenty-six  representative  schools 
having  a  four-year  course,  the  aggregate  of  hours  ranges  from  580  to 
1,009  ;  and,  in  fourteen  schools  having  a  course  of  five  or  six  years, 
from  740  to  1,92s.1  In  the  opinion  of  the  Conference,  Latin  should 
claim  about  one-fifth  of  each  school  day,  or  fipe-Jjoars  a  week.  This 
means  a  total  of  about  800  periods  of  fort3'-five  or  fifty  minutes  of 
actual  work.  If  the  course  were  to  be  one  of  five  or  six  years,  instead 
of  four,  the  Conference  would  not  recommend  any  diminution  of  the 
weekly  allotment.  The  aggregate  of  1,000  to  1,200  "hours"  thus 
obtained,  which  might  to  some  observers  seem  excessive,  is  much 
below  the  maximum  amount  already  given  in  the  fourteen  representa- 
tive schools  having  a  course  of  five  or  six  }*ears,  while  it  is  identical 
with,  or  but  little  above,  the  average  in  those  schools  (viz.,  1000 
hours),  and  much  below  the  average  in  the  schools  of  England, 
France  and  Germany.  The  explanation  of  the  undeniable  fact  that, 
in  the  countries  just  named.  Latin  has  been  more  successfully  em- 
ployed than  with  us  "  as  an  instrument  for  training  the  mind  to  habits 
of  intellectual  conscientiousness,  patience,  discrimination,  accuracy, 
and  thoroughness, — in  a  word,  to  habits  of  clear  and  sound  think- 
ing," doubtless  lies  partly  in  the  more  liberal  allowance  of  time. 
See  Recommendations  3,  4,  and  5. 

The  answer  to  the  tenth  question  put  before  the  Conference,  with 
regard  to  the  best__method  of  testing  attainments  at  the  college 
examinations  for  admission,  must  turn  mainly  upon  the  general 

1  From  statistics  of  forty  representative  schools  gathered  by  the  Committee 
of  Ten. 


62  LATIN. 

character  of  the  requirements  held  up  before  the  schools.  Up  to 
the  present  timeAhe  commoner  form  of  requirement  may  be  said  to 
insist  strongly  upon  the  quantitative  side/  A  certain  number  of 
books  of  certain  authors  are  to  be  read,  or  certain  defined  substitutes, 
supposed  to  be  equal  in  quantity  ;  a  certain  number  of  lessons  in  some 
manual  of  Latin  composition  must  be  studied  ;  and  a  certain  amount 
of  Latin  grammar  must  be  learned.  After  a  preparation  controlled 
by  this  quantitative  conception,  the  test  applied  by  colleges  that  do 
not  use  the  certificate  system  must  necessarily  be  directed  to  ascer- 
taining what  familiarity  has  been  gained  with  the  ground  gone  over. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  requirement  be  ability  to  translate  "at 
sight "  from  Latin  into  English  and  from  English  into  Latin,  the~test 
must  necssarily  be  one  of  power.  Its  object  is  to  show  what  the  stu- 
dent is  now  capable  of  doing ;  and  it  may  therefore  fairly  be  called  a 
qualitative  test.  It  has  distinct  and  great  advantages.  What  the 
studient  knows  and  what  he  can  do  is  made  manifest  at  once  to  the 
practised  eye,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  ignorance  and  feebleness 
emerge  with  fatal  clearness.  "  Cramming  "  is  made  nearly  useless  by 
it,  and  the  steady  gain  of  power  becomes  the  student's  necessary  aim 
and  sole  means  of  salvation.  Still,  many  shrink  from  adopting  it  as 
the  sole  test.  The  examination,  they  urge,  may,  especially  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  there  are  many  students  of  mediocre  natural  gifts,  but  of 
faithfulness  and  staying  powers,  properly  take  account  of  the  amount 
of  work  which  the  candidate  Ir.is  covered,  and  of  the  thoroughness 
with  which  he  has  performed  a  fixed  task,  as  a  means  of  judging,  in 
the  rough,  of  his  fitness  for  higher  study.  Yet  the  importance  of 
devoting  a  good  deal  of  attention  to  translation  at  sight  is  now 
universally  acknowledged  among  the  best  teachers  in  school  and 
college,  and  the  recommendation  (included  in  No.  G)  that  transla- 
tion at  sight_form  a  constant  and  increasing  part  of  the  examination 
for  admission  and  of  the  work  of  preparation,  is  therefore  regarded 
by  the  Conference  as  of  especial  moment. 

Intimately  connected  with  the  same  subject  is  the  question  of  the 
wrffingr  r>f  jjg.f.inj  — its  place  in  the  study  of  the  language,  the  subject- 
matter  to  be  employed,  and  the  method  of  development  to  be  adopted. 

The  object  is  not  the  acquirement  of  the  power  for  its  own  sake ; 
for  this  power,  while  once  indispensable,  is  not  to-day  a  necesshVv,  nor 
even,  for  most  men,  an  especially  desirable  accomplishment.  The 
practice  should  be  employed  as  a  means,  —  as  a  powerful  instrument 
for  gaining  a  penetrating  insight  into  the  structure,  idiom,  and  spirit 
of  the  Latin  language,  both  in  its  agreement  with,  and  in  its  differ- 
ences from,  the  mother  tongue.  It  is  admitted,  for  example,  that,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  read  Latin,  one  must  have  a  firm  grasp  of  the 


LATIN.  63 

principles  of  Latin  syntax.  But  the  experience  of  many  teachers  has 
shown  that  this  grasp  is  to  be  gained  with  much  more  certainty  through 
writing  Latin  than  in  any  other  way  ;  and  in  this  field,  too,  the  stu- 
dent himself  clearly  sees  the  reasonableness  and  immediate  utility  of 
the  same  instruction  which,  when  applied  to  a  Latin  text,  often  seems 
to  him,  and  often  is,  needless  and  barren.  Here,  then,  should  fall 
the  principal  part  of  the  syntactical  instruction.  And,  for  similar 
reasons,  the  writing  of  Lath:  affords  the  best  field  for  the  master}7"  of 
forms,  of  vocabulary,  of  idiom,  and  of  order. 

The  majority  of  the  Conference  is  of  the  belief  that,  instead  of 
being  dissociated  from  practice  in  reading  and  translating,  as  it  still 
so  commonly  is,  practice  in  writing  should  be  regarded  as  the  obverse 
and  counterpart  of  reading,  and  therefore  should  be  carried  on  pari 
passu  with  it.  In  no  other  way  can  direct  advantage  be  taken  of  the 
threads  of  association  woven  in  the  mind  by  the  reading  of  an  author, 
and  in  no  other  way  can  the  subject-matter,  in  the  earlier  stages,  be 
made  so  interesting  and  so  practical.  It  follows  that  the  basis  of  all 
sentences  and  passages  set  for  translation  into  English  in  the  pre- 
paratory schools  should  be  found  in  the  Latin  texts  read.  And  it  is 
also  evidently  desirable  that  the  portions  of  the  text  chosen  should  be 
limited,  —  so  limited,  in  fact,  that  thej^can  gradually  be  committed  to 
memor}',  and  preserved  as  a  permanent  store.-  "This  small  treatise 
alone"  says  George  Long,  in  the  preface  to  his  edition  of  the  Cafo 
Major.  "  if  thoroughly  mastered,  .  .  .  would  make  a  maa  a  good 
Latin  scholar." 

The  use  of  manuals  of  composition  based  upon  a  plan  of  exer- 
cises having  no  connection  with  the  texts  read,  and  arranged  in  arti- 
ficial sequence  to  illustrate  S37ntactical  rules,  ought  accordingly  to  be 
discouraged.  See  Recommendation  11. 

The  summoning  of  the  Conference  afforded  a  fortunate  opportunity 
for  the  discussion  of  an  important  question  not  included  in  the  mem- 
orandum, namely,  ^what  authors,  and  what  parts  of  authors,  should 
constitute  the  reading  of  the  preparatory  schools;/  Thus  far,  the 
colleges  have  in  general  left  the  schools  very  little  liberty  of  choice. 
Three  authors  have  been  named  by  every  college  that  prescribes  set 
work.  Of  these  three  the  easiest,  or,  as  one  should  perhaps  say,  the 
least  difficult,  is  Caesar.  Hence  it  has  come  about  that  the  Gallic 
War  is  very  commonly  used  as  the  first  reading-book  in  Latin.  Our 
American  schools  are  probably  the  only  ones  in  the  world  of  which 
this  is  true.  The  choice  is  an  unfortunate  one.  The  book  is 
altogether  too  difficult  for  beginners ;  it  is  too  exclusively  military  in 
contents  to  be  generally  interesting ;  its  vocabulary  is  too  largely 
restricted,  from  the  nature  of  the  subject,  to  marches,  sieges,  and 


64 


LATIN. 


battles,  to  afford  the  best  introduction  to  subsequent  reading;  and, 
finally,  it  touches  human  life  at  too  few  points  to  be  morally  helpful 
and  significant.  The  Conference  therefore  makes  two  recommenda- 
tions :  first,  that  some  easy  reading,  such  as  Gradatim,  Eutropius,  or 
the  Viri  Romae,  be  used  as  a  transition  from  the  introductory  work  of 
the  beginner's  book  to  the  regular  reading  of  a  classic  ;  and  second, 
that  at  least  a  portion  of  the  time  now  usually  given  to  Caesar  be  taken 
from  him  and  given  to  Nepos.  Against  the  "  Liv£s"  not  one  of  the 
reasons  urged  against  the  use,  or  exclusive  use,  oTftle  Gallic  War  can 
be  brought.  The  objection  that  the  Latinity  of  Nepos  is  inferior  to 
that  of  Caesar  would  be  of  weight  only  in  case  the  chief  object  in  the 
earlier  years  of  the  study  of  Latin  were  the  immediate  production  of 
writers  of  an  elegant  Latin  style.  No  such  fear  is  felt  by  German, 
French,  and  English  school-masters,  who  have  found,  as  have  also 
various  experimenters  in  this  country,  that  the  use  of  the  books  men- 
tioned above  as  bridges  to  and  substitutes  for  Caesar  contributes  to 
the  pleasure  and  progress  of  the  student.  See  Recommendation  9. 

The  Bucolics  of  Virgil  constitute  the  least  original,  and,  to  the 
school-bo^T^e^st  interesting,  and  most  difficult,  part  of  the  poet's 
works.  Their  proper  place  is  in  an  elective  course  for  university 
students,  in  connection  with  the  reading  of  Theocritus.  It  is  advised 
that  they  be  discontinued  in  the  requirements  for  admission  to  college. 
See  Recommendation  7. 

Some  teachers  of  learning,  experience,  and  skill  have  believed  that, 
in  what  is  called  the  inductive  method,  they  have  found  a  shorter  and 
better  way  of  learning  Latin  than  has  heretofore  been  devised.  The 
saving  of  time  and  the  attainment  of  a  more  exact  scholarship,  which 
are  the  ends  they  have  set  themselves  to  bring  about,  are  certainly 
greatly  to  be  desired.  Perhaps  some  good  has  been  done  by  the  pub- 
lication of  books  calling  attention  strongly  to  a  side  of  linguistic  study 
which,  even  in  the  earlier  years,  should  not  be  entirely  ignored.  But 
the  Conference  is  of  the  opinion  that/it  is  an  error  to  erect  into  the 
sole  controlling  principle  what  should,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be 
subordinate./  On  this  subject,  therefore,  a  word  of  caution  seemed  to 
nearly  all  rfe  members  to  be  desirable.  See  Recommendation  13. 

In  the  judgment  of  the  Conference,  the  greatest  defects  now  exist- 
ing in  the  instruction  given  in  Latin  in  the  schools  are  to  be  found  in 
the  elementary  stages.  It  is  a  common  practice  to  put  the  teaching 
of  beginners  into  the  hands  of  the  youngest  and  most  poorly  paid 
teachers,  that  is  to  say,  of  those  who  have  the  slenderest  equipment 
of  knowledge  and  experience.  The  same  thing  is  true  in  other^sub- 
jects  ;  but  the  danger  seems  to  be  especially  great  in  Latin,  partly 
because  the  field  is  so  vast,  covering  as  it  does  a  great  number  and 


LATIN.  65 

variety  of  topics,  and  partly  because  it  is  so  difficult  to  determine 
practically  the  best  distribution  and  appropriation  of  time  along  the 
several  lines  of  study.  To  competent  knowledge  the  teacher  must 
add  the  clearest  and  most  definite  conceptions  of  the  relative  import- 
ance and  the  lo^ical^seguence  of  topics,  of  the  ends  to  be  reached  in 
each  stage,  and  of  the  best  methods  of  arriving  at  these  ends.  If, 
then,  the  results  of  the  study  of  Latin  often  seem  absurdly  meagre  in 
proportion  to  the  time  spent  upon  the  subject,  we  must  look  for  the 
cause  very  largely  in  the  fact  that,  at  the  most  critical  point  in  his 
stud}7,  the  student  is  given  over  to  an  instructor  of  the  least  experience 
and  knowledge. 

To  describe  in  full  the  best  method  of  teaching  Latin  throughout 
the  course,  as  was  suggested  in  the  memorandum  of  your  Committee, 
would  require,  the  conversion  of  this  Report  irito  a  treatise.  But  a 
brief  summary  may  be  made  of  the  things  to  do  and  the  things  to 
avoid,  and  a  few  definite  suggestions  may  be  offered  under  each  of 
the  former  heads. 

The  teacher  of  elementary  Latin  need  not  concern  himself  too 
much  with  the  remojter  ends  of  the  study.  To  him  the  question  should 
be :  What  knowledge  is  of  prime  importance,  as  the  foundation  for 
subsequent  work?  Stated  generally,  it  may  be  said  that  the  work  of 
the  first  period  should  be  (1)  learning  to  pronounce  accurate!}*  and 
to  read  fluently  and  intelligently  the  Latin  text  of  what  has  been 
studiecTf~(2)  the  mastery  ofjnflection,  so  that  number,  case,  person, 
mode,  tense,  etc.,  can  be  instantly  recognized,  and,  conversely,  can  be 
formed  without  much  hesitation  by  the  student  himself;  (3)  the  acqui- 
sition of  a  working  vocabulary  of  from  one  to  two  thousand  words ; 

^  ~~     L          * 

(4)  the  mastery  of  the  oruer  of  the  Latin  sentence  ;  (5)  the  mastery 
of  the  simpler  principles  of  syntax,  regarded  as  a  means  of  expres- 
sion;  (G)  learning  how  to  understand  simple  narrative  in  Latin; 
and  (7)  learning  how  to  translate  such  narrative  into  true  P^nglish. 
In  necessary  connection  with  the  pui'suit  of  these  aims,  a  good  deal 
of  training  of  the  ear  should  be  employed,  through  listening  to  the 
reading  or  speaking  of  the  teacher;  and,  in  addition,  a  certain 
amount  of  practice  in  turning  English  into  Latin  will  be  necessary,  as 
an  indispensable  instrument  for"  fixing  forms  in  the  memory  and. 
establishing  a  feeling  for  their  syntactical  powers.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  things  to  be  avoided  are  (1)  a  dispersion  of  effort  in  con- 
sequence of  the  attempt  to  include  too  many  parts  of  the  study  in 
the  first  stage  ;  (2)  an  undue  prominence  of  rules,  and  the  treat- 
ment of  syntax  as  an  end  in  itself,  rather  than  as  an  auxiliary  to 
the  penetration  of  the  sense;  and  (3)  the  use  of  "translation 
English." 
5 


66  LATIN. 

The  more  detailed  suggestions  that  follow,  under  the  head  of 
the  things  to  be  dpne,  apply  in  part,  as  will  be  seen,  to  the  work 
of  the  later  years  of  the  preparatory  course,  as  well  as  to  the 
earlier. 

1.  PRONUNCIATION  AND  READING  ALOUD,  The  Conference  desires 
to  emphasize  the  importance  of  a  correct  pronunciation  of  Latin 
from  the  very  beginning  of  the  study.  A  student  who  acquires 
the  habit  of  pronouncing  accurately  in  reading  Latin  prose  will 
find  little  difficulty,  and  a  genuine  pleasure,  in  reading  Latin  verse. 
As  practical  aids  to  this  end,  the  following  suggestions  are  made 
with  regard  to  certain  peculiarities  of  the  pronunciation  of  the 
Romans :  — 

(a)  The  long  vowels  received  full  length,  not  only  in  ultimas  and 
penults,  but  in  every  syllable.      (So,  for  example,  the  second  a  in 
amabamus  should  occupy  about  as  much  time  in  the  utterance  as  the 
second  in  arnabam) . 

(b)  An    obstructed    consonant    (i.  e.,    a   consonant    made    more 
difficult   to    articulate    fully,    through    being    immediately    followed 
by  another,   either  in   the   same  word  or  at  the  beginning  of  the 
next)  was  pronounced  with  a  clearness  and  distinctness  not  known 
in  similar  cases  in  English,  so  that  it  occupied  about  as  much  time 
in  the  utterance  as  a  short  vowel.     [A  mute  followed  by  a  liquid, 
on  the  other  hand,   made  a  combination   easy  to  pronounce   both 
fully  and  rapidly,  and  so  occupied  no  appreciable  time  in  ordinary 
speech.     In  poetry,   however,  the  first  consonant  was  occasionally 
treated  as  obstructed,   being  pronounced  as  a  distinct  sound,  out 
of  combination]. 

(c)  In  verse,  as  in  daily  speech,  a  final  vowel,  before  an  initial 
vowel  or  vowel  with  h,  was  run  as  a  glide  into  the  next  vowel. 

Without  a  knowledge  of  quantities  (and,  of  course,  not  merely  in 
penults  and  ultimas,  but  in  all  syllables),  correct  reading  is,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  impossible.  Yet  to  acquire  this  knowledge  by  look- 
ing up  every  word  in  the  dictionary  is,  to  the  young  student,  a  labo- 
rious, and,  relatively,  an  unprofitable  task.  He  should  learn  his 
quantities  b}r  the  easiest  and  most  direct  way,  namely,  by  the  guid- 
ance of  eye  and  ear.  Hence  books  prepared  for  the  first  two  years 
of  a  four-year  course  should,  in  the  text  proper,  as  well  as  in  the 
paradigms,  notes,  and  vocabulan*,  have  the  vowels  long  by  nature 
marked  (the  unmarked  ones  being  understood  to  be  short) .  And  the 
teacher,  from  whom,  by  unconscious  imitation,  class  after  class  will 
largely  take  it  pronunciation,  should  not  feel  at  liberty  to  be  careless 
in  his  own  practice.  He  will  find  rules  to  be  of  little  value,  and 
example  to  be  all-important. 


LATIN.  67 

For  the  sounds  of  the  letters,  the  following  scheme  is  recom- 
mended :  — 

a  as  in.  father. 

a  like  first  a  in  aha  (same  quality  as  second  but  short) ,  first  vowel  in  artistic 
(of  course  with  no  r  sound). 

e  like  the  English  a-sound  as  heard  in  skein,  cave,  Cain,  but  without  the  van- 
ishing ee-element  which  ends  the  English  sound. 

e  as  in  net,  bed. 

i  as  in  machine. 

i  as  in  pin. 

6  like  the  English  o-sound  heard  in  note,  but  without  the  vanishing  oo-element 
which  ends  the  English  sound. 

0  as  in  the  first  syllable  of  obey  and  the  second  of  melody.     The  sound  is  not 

the  same  as  in  not,  dot. 
u  as  in  rule. 
u  as  in  pull. 

y  like  French  u,  German  u. 
ae  like  ai  in  aisle. 
oe  like  oi  in  oil. 
au  like  oiv  in  how. 
eu  by  pronouncing  both  elements  in  rapid  succession,  —  a  combination  not 

occurring  in  English. 
ei  as  in  skein  (with  the  vanishing  ee-element) . 

1  consonantal  (sometimes  printed/)  like  y  in  yet. 

ui  occurs   chiefly   in  huic  and    cui,   which    should    be    pronounced   wheek, 

kwee. 
b,  d,  f,  h,  k,  1,  m  (not  final),  n,  p,  q,  as  in  English,  except  that  bs  and  bt 

should  be  pronounced  ps  and  pt. 
c  always  like  k. 
g  always  as  in  get ;  gu  like  gw,  when  preceded  by  n  and  followed  by  a  vowel; 

ng  like  English  ng  in  anger. 
qu  like  English  qu  in  quick,  queen. 
r  trilled  with  the  tip  of  the  tongue. 
s  always  as  in  sin;  su  like  sw  in  suavis,  suadeo,  suesco,  and  in  compounds 

ai\d  derivatives  of  these  words. 
z  like  z.     (The  evidence  is  as  yet  conflicting  with  regard  to  the  sound  of  this 

consonant  —  probably  zd,  or  dz,  though  possibly  z  — and  for  these 

reasons  the  English  sound  of  z  is  for  the  present  recommended). 
t  always  as  in  ten  (never  with  the  sound  of  sh,  as  in  English  creation}. 
v  like  w. 
x  like  ks. 
ph,  th,  and  ch  not  as  in  English,  but  nearly  like  p,  t,  and  k  (strictly  with  a 

slight  explosive  sound,  as  heard  at  the  end  of  English  words,  e.  g.,  hop. 

hot,  hock}. 

Final  m  preceding  an  initial  vowel  (or  vowel  with  ft)  should  be  pronounced  as 
a  faint  nasal  sound,  the  lips  approaching  the  ordinary  wi-position,  but  not  touch- 
ing. The  pronunciation  before  a  consonant  is  doubtful,  and,  for  the  present,  a 
change  from  the  sound  of  English  m  is  not  recommended. 


68  LATIN. 

It  is  strongly  recommended  that  abundant  practice  be  given  in  the 
reading  aloud  of  a  continuous  text  already  studied,  which  should  be 
assigned  in  advance  for  the  purpose,  and  carefully  prepared.  Not 
onl}7  is  this  an  excellent  literaiy  exercise,  which  will  add  much  to  the 
interest  and  sense  of  reality  of  the  subject-matter,  but  it  will  also 
contribute  greatly  to  a  feeling  for  forms  (since  in  Latin  so  much 
depends  upon  word  endings) ,  and  to  a  feeling  for  Latin  order. 

In  this  reading,  while  care  should  of  course  be  taken  with  the 
individual  sounds,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  pronunciation  is  the 
onlj*  or  even  the  chief  thing  to  aim  at.  The  meaning  of  the  text 
must  not  be  subordinated  to  the  sounds  of  the  letters.  The  reader 
should  endeavor  to  bring  out  the  thought  and  literary  art  of  his 
author,  not  onl}'  by  a  clear  and  full  and  easily-moving  utterance,  but 
by  the  grouping  of  words  that  constitute  a  phrase,  by  the  suggestion 
of  balance  or  antithesis  wherever  they  are  found,  by  a  hint  to  the  ear 
where  the  thought  of  the  writer  points  back  to  something  that  has 
been  said,  or  forward  to  something  that  is  about  to  be  said,  and  by 
emphasis  in  the  expression  wherever  there  is  emphasis  in  the 
thought. 

In  this  exercise  the  teacher  himself  (of  course  after  careful  prepa- 
ration) should  from  time  to  time  take  part.  And,  whether  it  be  the 
teacher  or  one  of  their  own  number  who  is  reading,  the  pupils  should 
be  encouraged  to  try  always  to  follow  the  sense  by  the  ear  alone, 
without  the  help  of  the  book. 

2.  FORMS.    The  mastery  of  forms  is  indispensable  as  a  basis  of  any 
sound  knowledge  and  of  any  progress,  and,  if  not  acquired  in  the 
first  year,  is  very  rarely  acquired  later.     The  method  must,  in  the 
main,  be  two-fold  translation  ;  first  of  single  words,  then  of  common 
combinations  of  adjective  and  noun,  or  pronoun  and  noun,  or  of  all 
three;  then  of  short  phrases,   as,   e.  0.,   a  verb  and  its  object,  an 
adjective,  preposition,  and  noun,  forming  a  phrase,  etc.    Particularly 
should  dependence  not.be  .made  wholly  or  chiefly  on  the.  repetition  of 
tabulated  forms. 

3.  VOCABULARY.  The  mastery  of  the  vocabulary  of  the  language  is 
a  prodigious  task.      It   confronts  the  learner  at  the  outset,   and  it 
remains  the  last  obstacle  to  be  overcome.     The  fact  seems  not  to  be 
appreciated  in  elementary  instruction,  and  accordingly  many  teachers 
think  that  text-books  for  the   use  of  beginners  should  not  contain 
more  than  a  few  hundred  words,  an  error  almost  as  great  as  to  sup- 
pose that  the  words  chosen  should  be  largely  taken  from  Caesar's 
Gallic    War.      It  has  already  been   said  that  this  book  is  of  too 
technical  a  character  to  constitute  a  good  introduction  to  the  reading 
of  Latin  ;  and  to  plan  the  elementary  work  with  especial  reference  to 


LATIN.  £9 

it  is,  therefore,  to  heap  mistake  upon  mistake.  Copiousness  and 
variety  should  characterize  the  vocabulary  of  the  introductory  book, 
not  only  for  the  sake  of  subsequent  reading,  but  because  both  are  a 
necessary  condition  of  any  human  interest  in  the  exercises,  oral  and 
written,  which  are  indispensable  for  practice  in  elementary  study. 

Some  suggestions  for  the  easing  of  the  young  learner's  task  may 
be  gathered  from  books  that  have  appeared  within  a  few  years,  (a) 
Special  vocabularies  attached  to  separate  exercises  or  selections 
should  in  no  case  be  committed  to  memory  before  the  study  of  such 
pensa,  but  should  be  used  for  reference  first,  and  memorized  last  of 
all;  that  is,  words  should  be  studied  in  a  sentence  before  they  are 
studied  in  isolation.  Not  only  is  the  immediate  tax  upon  the 
memory  in  this  way  lightened,  but  the  impression  made  is  more 
lasting,  (fr)  Related  words  should  be  grouped  together  as  fast  as 
they  occur.  Five  words  obviously  related  in  form  and  meaning  can 
more  easily  be  learned  and  remembered  than  one  word  in  isolation, 
(c)  The  comparison  and  discrimination  of  nearly  synonymous  words 
(to  be  made,  however,  only  as  they  occur  in  the  learner's  actual 
experience  in  reading)  aids  by  giving  definiteness  and  individuality 
to  each.  (d)  And,  finally,  the  greatest  auxiliary  is  the  habit  of 
constant  observation  of  the  different  applications  of  the  same  word. 
Students  seldom  know  more  than  one  English  rendering  for  a  Latin 
word,  or  more  than  one  Latin  rendering  for  an  English  word,  —  a 
state  of  things  due  in  part  to  the  want  of  the  ha'bit  just  referred  to, 
but  in  part  also  to  an  undue  insistence,  at  the  earliest  stage  of  study, 
on  the  memorizing  of  the  one  particular  meaning  that  happens  to  be 
given  in  the  text-book.  This  memorizing  of  one  meaning  is,  in  fact, 
what  many  teachers  mean  by  "mastering"  a  vocabular}*. 

4.  SYNTAX.  The  study  of  syntax  may  well,  in  university  work,  be 
dealt  with  as  a  matter  of  special  interest  to  the  advanced  student,  and 
be  offered  in  courses  by  itself.  But  for  the  student  who  is  preparing 
for  college  it  is  merely  an  indispensable  means  to  an  end^,  namely,  the 
power  to  read.  This  statement  by  no  means  implies  that  it  is  to  be 
treated  carelessly  and  superficially  \yy  the  teacher  (for,  if  that  be 
done,  no  real  power  to  read  can  possibly  be  gained) ,  but  only  that  it 
will  be  taught  by  him  in  the  most  helpful  manner,  if  he  will  do  the 
greater  part  of  his  syntactical  questioning  in  connection  witli  exercises 
in  which  the  student  is  trying  to  get  at  the  meaning  of  a  new  sentence 
(i.  e.,  in  translation  at  sight  or  at  hearing)  and  in  connection  with  the 
writing  of  Latin  (see  5  and  6  below).  No  attempt  should  be  made, 
however,  to  master  the  entire  apparatus  at  the  outset.  A  further 
suggestion  of  considerable  importance  m:iy  be  offered.  Where,  as  is 
constantly  happening,  a  mistake  in  translation  is  due  to  a  mistake  in 


70  LATIN. 

syntax,  the  teacher  should  not  be  content  with  giving  a  correct  trans- 
lation himself,  or  with  asking  some  pupil  to  do  it,  but  should  always 
himself  state,  or  ask  some  one  in  the  class  to  state,  what  the  Latin 
would  be  for  the  English  actually  given.  If  this  is  done,  syntax  is 
seen  in  its  true  light,  as  one  of  the  means  by  which  the  wrriter  ex- 
presses his  thought :  if  it  is  not  done,  the  syntax  of  a  given  passage 
seems  a  matter  of  indifference. 

5.  ORDER.  The  importance  of  a  genuine  familiarity  with  Latin 
order  can  hardly  be  over-estimated.  No  one  can  really  read  Latin 
unless,  whether  consciously  or  instinctively,  he  is  so  familiar  with  the 
way  in  which  the  Roman  arranged  his  sentences  that  it  seems  as 
natural  to  him  as  the  English  order.  It  will  be  a  help  if  the  teacher 
will  frequent!}"  point  out  whatever  in  this  respect  is  noteworthy,  and 
particularly  if  he  will  always,  in  working  with  his  classes  at  the  exer- 
cise of  translation  at  sight,  hold  to  the  Latin  order  until  he  thinks 
that  the  thought  has  been  grasped,  —  not  pass  from  one  part  of  the 
sentence  to  another,  to  make  out  an  English  order.  Much  help  will 
also  be  found  in  the  exercise  described  under  C  below  (at  the  end  of 
the  section) ,  and  in  the  exercise  of  listening,  without  looking  at  the 
book,  to  the  reading  of  a  prepared  text  by  the  teacher  or  fellow-pupil. 
And  students  should  also  be  encouraged  to  read  over  and  over  by 
themselves,  without  translating,  Latin  with  which  they  have  become 
familiar  in  the  class-room. 

It  is  obvious  that  a  proper  Latin  order  should  be  insisted  upon 
from  the  outset  in  all  Latin  written  by  the  student.  "English-Latin" 
should  be  as  carefully  avoided  as  the  hybrid  "Latin-English"  too 
often  accepted  as  translation.  Equally  important  is  it  that  the  editors 
of  elementary  text-books  should  put  before  the  student  no  Latin 
arranged  in  any  other  than  a  Latin  order. 

6.  LEARNING  TO  UNDERSTAND  THE  LATIN.  The  success  of  the 
student  in  one  of  the  points  most  essential  to  the  attainment  of 
power  tqjread,  namely,  in  learning  to  understand  his  author  in  'his 
author's  tongue,  will  depend  in  a  large  degree  upon  the  attitude  of 
mind  of  his  teacher.  The  latter  should,  from  the  very  beginning, 
hold  up  the  idea  that  the  highest  aim  of  Latin  scholarship,  on  the 
literary  side,  is  to  be  able  to  read  Latin,  as  every  competent  scholar 
learns  to  read  French  and  German,  with  a  direct  comprehension  and 
eujo3Tment  of  the  very  words  written  by  the  author,  not  of  an  English 
substitute  made  by  the  reader.  The  student  should  be  taught  to  re- 
gard translation,  not  as  a  means  of  finding  out  what  his  author  has 
said,  but  as,  on  the  one  hand,  a  way  of  making  it  clear  to  his  instructor 
that  he  has  understood,  and,  on  the  other,  an  exercise  in  expression, 
—  a  literary  exercise,  —  in  his  own  tongue.  And  finally,  it  should  be 


LATIN.  71 

shown  him  that,  even  on  the  most  practical  grounds,  to  attempt  to 
find  out  the  meaning  of  a  Latin  sentence  through  translating  it  (as 
the  common  way  is)  is  an  operation  almost  sure  to  miscarry ;  that 
the  Latin,  as  in  the  case  of  a  g«f-clause,  an  w£-clause,  a  cw?7i-clause, 
etc.,  often  uses  a  single  word  as  connective,  where  the  English  would 
employ  one  or  another  out  of  a  large  group  (e.  gr.,  for  the  ^-clause, 
"when,"  "just  as,"  "although,"  "in  order  to,"  "so  that"),  and 
that  to  translate  by  anything  whatsoever,  before  the  complete  evi- 
dence of  the  entire  sentence  has  been  had  and  the  relation  of  part  to 
part  seen,  is  to  run  a  very  large  risk  of  going  astray  at  this  point,  and 
of  being  led  still  further  afield  in  other  points  in  the  unconscious 
attempt  to  make  them  consistent  with  the  first  mistake.  But  the  stu- 
dent, dealing  with  a  language  in  which  the  form  of  the  sentence  is 
entirely  new  to  him,  is  naturally  prone  to  go  astray  in  precisely  this 
way.  He  should  therefore  constantly  receive  practical  help.  Practice 
in  translating  at  sight,  or  more  exactly,  in  understanding  at  sight,  under 
\the  instructor's  eye  and  then  translating,  ought  to  be  given  daily,  or 
/at  least  very  frequently.  In  general,  the  best  passage  for  the  pur- 
Ipose  will  be  the  passage  immediately  following  the  lesson  of  the  day, 
for  the  double  reason  that  the  student  is  familiar  with  the  context, 
and  that,  when  the  additional  exercise  carries  him  straight  on  to  his 
end,  he  feels  the  reality  of  his  progress.  The  Latin  should  always  be 
read  aloud,  sometimes  by  a  student,  sometimes  by  the  master,  before 
any  translation  is  ventured  upon.  The  master  should  stop  the  student 
here  and  there,  if  his  way  of  reading  shows  that  his  grouping  is  wrong, 
or  if  any  other  indication  proves  that  he  has  not  understood  ;  and  other 
pupils  should  be  asked  to  correct  him.  Where  a  word  is  einplo}*ed  to 
give  notice  in  advance  that  something  is  coming,  this  should  be  made 
clear  by  the  way  of  reading.  Where  a  Latin  word  calls  for  some 
construction  yet  to  come,  to  complete  its  meaning,  and  either  of 
several  constructions  may  be  employed  according  to  the  exact  shade 
of  the  author's  thought  (as,  e.  g. ,  dico  may  be  followed  by  the  interroga- 
tive subjunctive  clause,  or  by  the  infinitive,  or  by  an  ut-  or  Tie-clause, 
according  as  the  idea  is  of  asking  a  question,  or  stating  a  fact,  or 
giving  a  direction) ,  this  range  of  possibilities  should  be  pointed  out 
(unless  it  has  already  been  pointed  out  so  frequently  that  the  class 
has  become  familiar  with  it)  ;. after  which  nothing  further  need  be  said 
when  the  completing  construction,  thus  already  foreseen  as  a  possi- 
bility or  certainty,  is  actually  reached.  Where  there  is  danger  of 
going  astray  through  misapprehension  of  the  syntax  of  a  word,  the 
construction  (i.  e.,  the  force  of  the  case,  the  mode,  or  the  tense) 
should  be  asked  for.  No  question  upon  construction  should  be  put 
except}  as  a  means  of  guiding  the  class  to  an  understanding  of  the 


72 


LATIN. 


meaning  of  the  Latin  ;  and  consequently  every  question  of  this  sort 
should  precede  the  translation. 

When  a  sentence  is  manifestly  easj7,  and  has  probably  been 
understood  by  the  class,  it  is  well  to  pass  straight  on  without 
translating  it.  The^^^r^ater  part  of  what  is  read  will,  however, 
require  translation. 

The  habit  of  trying  to  understand  a  sentence  in  the  original,  before 
translating,  will  be  more  easily  acquired,  if  the  teacher  will  from  time 
to  time  put  a  new  passage  upon  the  board,  a  word  or  phrase  at  a  time, 
or,  better  yet,  read  it  aloud,  calling  attention  as  he  goes  along,  by 
comment  or  question,  to  indications  of  meaning  which  would  have 
guided  a  Roman,  but  asking  for  no  translation  until  the  whole  pas- 
sage has  been  written  or  read. 

In  the  preparation  of  his  dail}T  lesson  by  himself,  the  student  should 
be  urged  to  study  the  Latin,  in  entire  faithfulness  to  the  aims  stated 
above,  in  the  order  in  which  it  is  written,  without  any  skipping  about. 
The  sentence  should  be  read  through  once,  twice,  or,  if  necessary, 
three  times  in  the  Latin,  with  no  reference  to  the  making  of  a  trans- 
lation, but  with  the  mind  fixed  upon  grasping  the  meaning  directly. 
If  the  effort  has  in  part  failed,  the  student  may  then  help  himself  by 
making  a  rough  rendering  of  the  sentence,  word  for  word,  still  in  the 
Latin  order,  and  with  great  suspense  of  mind  in  the  case  of  words 
that  are  capable  of  corresponding  to  a  variety  of  phrases  in  English. 
This  rough  rendering,  however,  must  be  regarded  as  a  mere  tem- 
porary expedient,  at  the  last  resort,  for  getting  at  the  meaning,  not, 
of  course,  as  translation  into  English.  The  preparation  for  the  trans- 
lation to  be  given  in  the  class-room  is  an  entirely  different  exercise, 
and  should  be  the  last  act  of  the  preparation  of  the  lesson. 

7.  LEARNING  TO  TRANSLATE  INTO  ENGLISH.  There  is  probably  no 
better  exercise  in  English  expression  than  the  rendering  of  the  thought 
of  a  Greek  or  Roman  author  into  English  idiom.  The  very  difference 
of  the  two  idioms  increases  the  value  of  the  exercise.  But  great  loss 
is  sustained  by  the  student  when,  as  is  much  too  frequently  the  case, 
he  is  allowed  to  translate  into  a  diction  and  idiom  which  have  no  exis- 
tence in  actual  English  speech  or  English  literature.  Such  phrases, 
e.  g,  as  "this  one,  that  one  "  (hie,  ille),  which  are  never  heard  outside 
the  class-room,  ought  not  be  tolerated  in  it.  For  the  sake  of  the 
clearer  exhibition  of  the  grammatical  manner  of  expression  in  the 
Latin,  it  is  well  that  the  translation  should  correspond  lo  the  original 
where  the  two  idoms  are  identical,  but  no  farther.  Especial  care 
should  be  taken  to  render  the  order  oT  development  of  the  thought  in 
the  Latin,  as  shown  by  the  order  of  the  original,  and  the  student 
should  unhesitating^,  where  English  idiom  demands  it,  change  the 


LATIN.  73 

active  voice  to  the  passive,  and  break  a  Latin  sentence  into  as  many 
English  sentences  as  may  be  desirable. 

A  higher  ideal  of  translation  than  it  is  easy  to  attain  by  oral  work 
alone  may  be  set  up  in  the  minds  of  students,  if  a  passage  is  occasion- 
ally assigned  for  carefully  studied  written  translation,  and  if  a  number 
of  the  compositions  thus  produced  are  then  read  aloud,  criticisms  of 
style  being  asked  for  from  the  class,  and  special  excellencies  pointed 
out  by  the  teacher.  It  is  also  a  great  help,  if  the  teacher  makes  a 
practice  of  giving  the  best  version  of  which  he  is  capable,  after. the 
lesson  has  been  translated  by  the  class,  not  allowing  himself  to  inter- 
pose remarks,  but  translating  fluently  from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 

In  what  has  been  said  thus  far,  stress  has  been  laid  upon  the  mas-- 
tery  of  the  mechanism  of  expression  in  Latin,  —  the  \iords,  their 
forms^and  syntactical^constructions,  and  the  order  in  which  they  stand 
in  the  sentence.  But,  at  the  very  outset,  the  student  should  be  made 
to  understand  that  these  things  are  not  ends  but  tools,  and  that  the 
end  is  to  gain,  through  the  jreading  of  Latin,  an  insight  into  the 
thought  and  feeling  of  a  people  who  have  contributed  very  largely  to 
make  the  life  of  the  civilized  world  of  to-day  what  it  is.  The  Com- 
mentaries of  Caesar,  the  Epic  of  Virgil,  and  the  Orations  of  Cicero,  — 
commonly  spoken  of  as  subjects  required  for  admission  to  college,  — 
are  in  reality  masterpieces  of  literary  style,  and  historical  documents 
of  first-rate  importance.  The  teacher,  from  whose  attitude  of  mind 
his  pupils  are  likely  to  take  their  own  attitude,  will  do  well  not  to 
allow  the  burden  of  daily  work  and  yearly  repetition  to  lead  him  to 
set  up  a  mechanical  conception  of  Latin  as  a  field  for  intellectual 
gymnastics,  in  place  of  the  true  conception  of  a  vital  literature,  cap- 
able of  exerting  a  strong  attraction  upon  the  }'oung  student  (for  the 
most  part  possessed  as  yet  of  but  a  very  slight  vision  of  an}'  world 
except  that  which  is  immediately  about  him),  and  of  becoming  a 
powerful  influence  for  the  training  of  his  taste  and  the  awakening  of 
his  intellectual  ambitions.  As  a  help  to  this  true  conception,  it  is 
recommended  that  a  few  books,  dealing  with  the  authors  studied 
solely  from  the  point  of  viow  of  their  human  and  literary  interest,  be, 
if  possible,  made  accessible  to  the  student,  —  such  books,  for  example, 
as  Froude's  Caesar  (Harper  &  Brothers),  a  book  of  perverted  elo- 
quence, but  helpful  if  corrected  by  tho  next  to  be  mentioned,  For- 
syth's  Cicero  (Charles  Scribner's  Sons),  Trollope's  Cicero  (Mac- 
millan),  and  Sellar's  Virgil  (Macmillan)  ;  to  which  should  be  added 
the  articles  on  Caesar,  Cicero,  and  Virgil  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Britan- 
nica,  together  with  Sellar's  article  on  Roman  Literature  in  the  sam« 
place,  and  Wilkins's  Primer  of  Roman  Literature  (Macmillau). 


74  LATIN. 

The  text  of  the  formal  expressions  of  opinion  of  the  Conference 
follows :  — 

Recommendations  of  the  Conference  upon  the  subject  of  Latin. 

(1)  The  formal  requirements  in  Latin  at  present  prevailing    for 
admission  to  representative  colleges  ought  not,  so  far  as  quantity  is 
concerned,  to  be  increased. 

(2)  Education  below  the  high  school  course  should  be  so  organized 
that  students  may  be  prepared  to  enter  upon  that  course  at  least  a 
year  earlier  than,  in  most  places,  the}r  now  do. 

(3)  The  study  of  Latin  should  be  begun,  in  a  four-year  course, 'not 
later  than   at  the    age  of   fourteen  years,  and  at  a  correspondingly 
earlier  age  when  the  course  is  of  five  or  six  years'  duration. 

(4)  At  least  four  years  of  study,  with  five  recitation   periods    a 
week,  of  not  less  than  forty-five  minutes  each,  should  be  given  to  the 
study  of  Latin. 

(5)  In  case  the  course  extends  through  five  or  six  years,    there 
should,  in  the  interests  of  more  thorough  work,  be  no  diminution  of 
the  time  which  has  been  suggested  as  a  proper  weekly  allotment  for 
a  four-year  course. 

v  (6)  While  the  Conference  does  not  find  itself  yet  prepared  to 
declare  that  translation  at  sight  from  Latin  into  English,  and  from 
English  into  Latin,  without  examination  upon  the  ground  previously 
gone  over,  constitutes  a  complete  and  satisfactory  'test  of  the  stu- 
dent's knowledge,  as  well  as  of  the  power  he  has  gained,  it  strongly 
recommends  that  such  twofold  translation  at  sight  form, a  constant 
and  increasing  part  of  the  examination  for  admission  and  of  the 
work  of  preparation. 

(7)  The  Bucolics  of  Virgil  ought  henceforth  to  form  no  part  of 
the  requirements  for  admission. 

(8)  In  a  four-3'ear  course,   four  books  of  Caesar's  Gallic  War,  or 
an  equivalent,  should  be  completed   by  the  end  of  the  second  }Tear, 
and  six  orations  of  Cicero  and  six  books  of  the  Aeneid  during  the 
third  and  fourth  3^ears.     The  Conference  makes  no  recommendation 
upon   the  question  whether  Cicero  should  precede  Virgil,  or  Virgil 
Cicero ;    but   suggests    that,    if   Cicero    precede,    four    orations   be 
read,    then    six   books    of    Virgil,    followed    b3r   the   remaining   two 
orations. 

(9)  A  portion  of  the  Lives  of  Cornelius  Nepos  should  be  substi- 
tuted for  a  part  or  the   whole  of  Caesar's  Gallic  War,  and,  as  an 
introduction    to   the    reading   of  these    authors,    such    books  as  the 
Breviary    of  Eutropius,    Gradatim,    and   Viri    Romae,    are  strongly 
recommended. 


LATIN.  75 

(10)  The  subject  of  Latin  should  be  treated  in  the  same  way, 
whether  students  intend  to  go  to  college,  to  a  scientific  school,  or  to 
neither. 

/^(ll)  The  wanting  of  Latin  should  be  carried  on,  throughout  the 
preparatory  course,  concurrently  with  the  reading  of  prose.  The 
main  training  in  syntax  should  be  given  in  connection  with  work  in 
writing  Latin  ;  and,  during  the  reading  of  the  text,  questions  upon 
syntax  should  generally  be  confined  to  points  in  which  a  clear  recog- 
nition of  the  nature  of  the  construction  is  essential  to  the  under- 
standing of  the  passage.  The  basis  of  the  exercises  in  Latin 
cpmposition  should  be  limited  portions  of  the  text  of  authors  read, — • 
perhaps  not  more  than  forty  or  fifty  pages.  And,  finally,  the  tests  in 
writing  Latin  at  admission  examinations  should  be  limited  to  the 
subject-matter  of  the  authors  studied  in  the  preparatory  course. 

(12)  Elementary  books  for  the  study  of  Latin  should  contain  no 
sentences  written  in  an  un-Latin  order. 

(13)  Except  in   unusually   skilful  hands,  the  so-called  Inductive 
Method  of  teaching  Latin  should  be  used  with  extreme  caution.1 

(14)  The  importance  of  the  elementary  instruction  in  Latin  should 
be  emphasized,  and  the  necessity  of  a  high  grade  of  scholarship  in 
teachers  of  the  lower  classes  should  be  strongly  insisted  upon. 

1  NOTE. — On  the  general  question  here  involved  the  chairman  reserves  his 
opinion,  waiting  for  fuller  experimental  evidence  from  the  schools,  and  from 
examinations  for  admission. 

WM.    GARDNER   HALE,  Professor  of  Latin  in 

the  University  of  Chicago,  Chairman. 
WM.    C.    COLLAR,    Head-Master  of  the  Ro^bury 

Latin  School,  Secretary. 
CHARLES   E.   BENNETT,  Professor  of  Latin  in 

Cornell  University. 
FREDERICK  L.  BLISS,  Principal  of  the  Detroit 

High  School. 
JNO.   T.    BUCHANAN,   Principal  of  the  Kansas 

City  High  School. 
"JOHN    S.    CROMBIE,    Principal   of  the  Adelphi 

Academy. 
JAMES    H.    DILLARD,    Professor  of   Latin   in 

Tulane  University. 
WM.    GALLAGHER,    Principal   of  the    Williston 

Seminary. 
JOHN  C.   ROLFE,  Acting  Professor  of  Latin  in 

the  University  of  Michigan. 

JULIUS   SACHS,   Principal  of  the  Collegiate  In- 
stitute for  Boys,  New  York  City. 

*  Mr.  Crombie  took  an  active  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Conference, 
and  later  gave  his  assent  to  the  Report  as  it  here  stands.  His  official  connection 
with  it  was  therefore  concluded.  His  associates,  however,  desire  to  append  a 
record  of  his  untimely  death  on  the  16th  of  April,  1803;  and  to  express  their 
deep  regret  at  the  loss  of  a  colleague  of  singular  thoughtfulness,  tact,  and  charm. 


GREEK. 

To  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TEX  :  — 

The  Conference  on  Greek  met  with  every  member  present  at  Ann 
Arbor,  Michigan,  December  28th,  29th,  and  30th,  1892. 

In  its  discussions  and  recommendations  the  Conference  has  been 
guided  by  the  existing  conditions  of  the  study  of  Greek  in  the  schools 
and  by  the  admission  requirements  of  colleges,  as  well  as  by  its 
desire  to  recommend  some  ideal  plan  of  study.  It  is  well  known  that 
the  time  and  attention  given  to  Greek  vary  greatly  in  different  sec- 
tions of  the  country,  so  that  a  recommendation  that  is  simply  a  state- 
ment of  the  existing  conditions  for  schools  in  some  sections  may  be 
for  a  school  in  a  less  favored  community  —  for  the  time  —  an 
unattainable  ideal. 

However  unfortunate  it  may  be  thought,  the  fact  remains  that 
few  schools  will  do  more  for  their  pupils  in  preparation  for  college 
than  the  college  requirements  for  admission  demand,  BO  that  the  col- 
lege determines  in  large  measure  the  amount  of  work  done  in  the 
school,  as  well  as  controls  to  some  extent  by  the  rigor  or  laxitjr  of  its 
entrance  examinations  the  quality  of  the  preparatory  instruction. 

Influenced  then  by  these  considerations,  the  Conference  has  aimed 
to  make  recommendations  that  may  tend  to  unify  methods  of  the 
study  of 'Greek  in  the  different  sections  of  the  country.  The  Confer- 
ence would  not  have  its  recommendations  regarded  as  restrictive  in 
any  sense  ;  it  believes  that  under  favorable  conditions  more  can  be 
accomplished  than  the  amount  proposed  below  (sees.  II.,  III.)  — 
many  schools  are  doing  more  to-day  ;  but  the  Conference  recommends 
an  amount  of  work  that  every  school  can  do  in  the  timfe  proposed. 
Schools  that  are  favored  in  the  early  training  of  their  pupils  and  in 
other  ways,  can  accomplish  more.1 

The  following  votes  and  recommendations  were  made  by  the  Con- 
ference :  — 

Voted :  That  in  making  the  following  recommendations  this  Conference 
desires  that  the  average  age  at  which  pupils  now  enter  college  be  lowered 
rather  than  raised,  and  the  Conference  urges  that  no  addition  be  made  to 
the  more  advanced  requirements  in  Greek  now  prescribed  for  admission  to 
college. 

1  The  statement  of  a  headmaster  of  long  experience  will  not  be  without 
interest,  as  showing  the  possibilities  of  increase  in  the  amount  of  work  done, 
without  extra  time  or  a  sacrifice  of  thorough  teaching.  He  says  that  some  years 
ago  his  classes  read  three  books  of  Homer  in  the  senior  year;  as  he  received 
pupils  better  trained  and  secured  better  instruction,  the  amount  read  was 
increased  to  five  books ;  then  to  eight ;  and  he  hopes  in  the  same  way  to  increase 
thp  amount  read  still  further. 


GREEK.  77 


I.    PERIOD  OF  STUDY. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  the  study  of  Greek  be  begun  at  least 
three  years  before  the  close  of  the  course  preparatory  to  college,  and  that 
to  the  subject  be  given  five  recitations  per  week,  of  at  least  forty-five 
minutes  each,  the  first  year,  four  recitations  per  week  the  second  year,  and 
four  recitations  per  week  the  third  year. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Conference  recommends  as  a  minimum 
school  course  in  Greek  about  490  recitation  periods.  Most  schools 
in  which  Greek  is  studied  during  two  years  only,  give  360-400 
recitation  periods  to  the  study,  so  that  for  such  schools  the  time 
recommended  amounts  to  an  increase  of  little  more  than  a  half-year's 
work.  It  is  believed  by  the  Conference  that  this  increase  can  be 
made  in  many  cases  without  serious  difficult}'.  On  the  other  hand 
this  amount  of  time  recommended  as  a  minimum  is  less  than  the  time 
already  given  in  most  schools  where  Greek  is  studied  three  years. 
Of  twenty-five  representative  schools  having  three-year  courses  in 
Greek,  two  only  give  less  than  the  minimum  number  of  hours  pro- 
posed (490),  while  twelve  devote  to  Greek  550  hours  or  more,  one 
school  giving  658  hours  in  three  years. 

While  the  Conference  recommends  three  years  as  the  minimum 
time  for  the  study  of  Greek  in  schools,  it  would  not  have  a  pupil 
begin  to  study  the  language  without  a  knowledge  of  the  elements  of 
Latin  ;  so  that  the  Conference  would  limit  the  study  of  Greek  to  two 
years  in  a  school  in  which  Latin  is  studied  but  three. 


II.    COURSE  IN  ATT!C  GREEK. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  the  course  in  Attic  Greek  consist  of 
four  books  of  the  Anabasis,  or  of  two  books  of  the  Anabasis  and  an  amount 
of  the  Hellenica,  or  of  other  Attic  Greek,  equivalent  to  two  other  books  of 
the  Anabasis. 

The  members  of  the  Conference  urge  that  the  Anabasis  be  no 
longer  retained  in  our  schools  as  the  only  text-book  in  Attic  Greek  ; 
they  feel  that  as  the  events  chronicled  in  the  Anabasis  had  little 
effect  on  subsequent  history,  it  is  well  for  pupils  to  read  more  impor- 
tant works.  The  Hellenica,  especially  Books  I.  and  II.,  has  more 
historic  value  than  the  Anabasis,  and  the  narrative  portions  of  Thucy- 
dides  may  well  be  read  in  schools.  The  Conference  believes  that  by 
such  substitution  of  portions  of  the  Helleuica  and  of  Thucydides  the 
pupil's  interest  in  his  work  will  be  increased,  and  that  better  results 
can  be  obtained. 


78 


GREEK. 


III.    HOMER. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  three  books  of  the  Iliad,  or  its  equiva- 
lent, four  books  of  the  Odyssey,  be  the  prescribed  work  in  Homer,  sug- 
gesting that  the  Odyssey  be  preferred. 

The  demand  is  being  made  in  some  quarters  that  Homer  be  no 
longer  studied  in  schools,  thus  limiting  the  stud}'  of  Greek  to  the 
Attic  dialect.  While  the  Conference  cannot  favor  this  plan  for 
schools  in  which  Greek  is  studied  during  three  years,  and  believes 
that  the  withdrawal  of  Homer  from  such  schools  would  be  a  misfor- 
tune, it  advises  that  schools  which  limit  their  courses  in  Greek  to 
two  years,  make  no  attempt  to  teach  Homer. 

The  charge  that  Homer  is  poorly  taught  in  the  schools  seems  to 
the  Conference  an  argument  against  poor  teaching,  not  against  the 
subject  taught.  No  one  proposes  to  remove  English  Composition 
from  the  list  of  school  studies,  —  and  yet,  if  we  can  judge  from 
current  educational  literature,  men  have  great  differences  of  opinion 
as  to  the  best  methods  of  teaching  English  Composition,  as  well  as 
believe  that  there  is  much  poor  teaching  of  this  subject.  Poor 
instruction  should  be  made  the  basis  of  attack  upon  the  individual 
teacher  who  is  at  fault,  or  upon  the  wrong  methods  employed,  not 
against  the  subject  in  which  poor  instruction  is  given.  The  Con- 
ference does  recognize,  however,  that  as  a  result  of  poor  teaching  a 
pupil  may  leave  the  preparatory  school  with  neither  the  definite 
knowledge  of  Attic  Greek  that  he  can  be  expected  to  have,  nor  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  relation  of  the  Epic  to  the  later  Classical 
language.  This  may  come  from  an  attempt  to  teach  the  pupil  two 
dialects,  whereas  all  instruction  in  Greek  grammar  and  language 
should  aim  to  fix  in  the  pupil's  mind  by  repetition  and  comparison 
some  fundamental  knowledge  of  Attic  Greek.  Homeric  grammar,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  Conference,  is  a  subject  for  study  in  the  College  or 
University,  not  in  the  Preparatory  School ;  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  of 
all  books  must  be  studied  as  literature  ;  sufficient  instruction  in  the 
grammatical  peculiarities  of  their  language,  however,  should  be  given 
to  insure  a  correct  understanding  of  the  text.  (By  continuing  com- 
position and  the  reading  of  Attic  texts  throughout  the  course  the 
Conference  seeks  to  avoid  neglect  of  the  Attic  dialect  during  the 
study  of  Homer.  —  Sections  IV.  and  VII.) 

It  appears  from  the  experience  of  members  of  the  Conference,  and 
of  others,  that  the  prospect  of  reading  Homer  is  no  small  inducement 
to  pupils  to  study  Greek  ;  in  schools  where  children  have  been  en- 
couraged to  read  translations  of  Homer,  the  number  beginning  Greek 
has  been  considerably  increased.  The  Homeric  poems  appeal  to  the 


GREEK.  79 

pupil's  imagination  and  arouse  his  interest  in  the  life  and  thought  of 
the  Greeks.  It  does  not  seem  wise  to  the  Conference  to  remove 
these  works  from  the  schools  and  thereby  delay  the  time  when  pupils 
can  begin  their  real  acquaintance  with  the  two  greatest  poems  the 
Greeks  have  left  us.  If  the  study  of  Homer  is  relegated-  to  the 
college,  many  graduates  of  our  schools,  both  those  who  do  not  go  to 
college  and  those  who  fail  to  continue  their  Greek  after  entrance,  will 
know  nothing  of  Homer  in  the  original  —  and  probably  little  through 
translation. 

The  Conference  holds  that  the  Odyssey  is  much  to  be  preferred  to 
the  Iliad  for  school  boys  and  girls.  The  Odyssey  deals  with  fairy 
land,  enchantment,  and  human  effort :  it  is  a  story  of  the  same  class 
with,  and  can  be  compared  to,  the  Arabian  Nights  and  Robinson 
Crusoe.  The  Iliad,  on  the  other  hand,  treats  of  deeds  that  belong  to 
Gods  and  heroes,  the  conflicts  seem  far  from  us,  and  lack  the  human 
interest  that  Odysseus'  adventures  have.  Young  children  read  trans- 
lations of  the  whole  Odyssey  eagerly,  but  are  interested  in  scattered 

episodes  only  of  the  Iliad. 

• 

IV.    TRANSLATION  INTO  GREEK. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  instruction  in  the  translation  of  Eng- 
lish into  Greek  be  based  upon  the  Attic  prose  Greek  read,  and  that  simple 
exercises  of  this  nature,  both  oral  and  written,  based  upon  the  lesson  of 
the  day,  be  frequently  given;  that  some  manual  of  "Greek  Composition," 
in  which  connected  discourse  is  employed  and  the  subject  of  syntax  is 
topically  treated,  be  used  ;  and  the  Conference  urges  that  the  exercises  in 
translation,  into  Greek  be  continuous  throughout  the  preparatory  course. 

It  is  well  agreed,  in  theory,  that  Greek  Composition  is  valuable  as 
a  means  to  secure  the  better  understanding  of  the  texts  read,  and  there 
is  no  wide  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  desirability  of  basing  exer- 
cises for  translation  on  the  Attic  prose  read,  and  of  holding  frequent 
exercises  in  re-translation.  There  is,  however,  great  variety  of 
practice :  in  some  schools  no  exercises  in  re-translation  are  given 
after  the  first  book  ;  in  many  schools  pupils  are  required  to  use  text 
books  in  which  the  sentences  and  longer  exercises  are  based  solely 
on  the  author's  ingenuity  and  fancy  ;  and,  furthermore,  exercises  in 
Greek  Composition  are  neither  taught  by  the  instructor  nor  regarded 
by  the  pupil  as  a  regular  part  of  the  school  work  but  as  an  unfortu- 
nate and  useless  task  devised  by  college  teachers  and  inflicted  by 
college  entrance  requirements.  The  Conference,  therefore,  wishes  to 
emphasise  the  importance  of  Greek  Composition,  and  urges  that  it  be 
a  part  of  each  week's  work.  Each  teacher  must  decide  whether  a 
portion  of  each  recitation  hour,  or  a  separate  hour  each  week,  shall  be 
given  to  such  exercises. 


80  GREEK. 

V.    GEOGRAPHY,   HISTORY,  ETC. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  in  the  reading  of -the  classical  texts, 
the  Geography,  History,  Mythology,  and  Antiquities  connected  with  the 
subject  matter  read,  receive  proper  attention. 

VI.    SIGHT  EXAMINATIONS. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  pupils  be  prepared  for  an  entrance 
examination  in  reading  simple  Attic  prose  at  sight,  and  the  Conference 
suggests  that  as  a  substitute  for  an  examination  on  a  prescribed  portion  of 
Homer,  an  examination  in  Homer  at  sight,  with  questions  on  the  passage 
set  for  examination,  may  be  given. 

The  Conference  regrets  that  so  few  colleges  through  their  entrance 
examinations  encourage  "  reading  at  sight"  in  schools.  Twenty-nine 
colleges  only  offer  or  require  sight  examinations  for  entrance  ;  but 
nine  have  sight  examinations  in  Homer ;  in  two  sight  tests  are  the 
only  ones  required.  As  school  work  is  little  better  than  college 
requirements  compel,  the  atnount  of  sight  reading  done  in  schools 
can  be  readily  estimated.  In  most  schools,  it  is  true,  spasmodic  exer- 
cises are  held,  but  comparatively  few  schools  seem  to  regarcj  "  sight 
work  "  as  an  exercise  to  be  constantly  practised. 

It  is  quite  evideut  that  pupils  who  have  read  only  1500  verses  of 
Homer  are  not  prepared  for  examination  in  Homer  at  sight ;  but 
those  who  have  studied  2500  or  3000  verses,  and  have  been  steadily 
trained  in  sight  reading,  should  be  allowed  to  take  a  sight  examina- 
tion in  place  of  an  examination  on  a  prescribed  portion  of  the  text, 
or  as  a  supplement  to  it. 

(In  recommending  entrance  examinations  at  sight  and  thereby  the 
practice  of  sight  reading  in  schools,  the  Conference  wishes  to  avoid 
an  overestimate  of  the  value  of  such  exercise,  and  does  not  urge  its 
practice  to  the  exclusion  of  carefully  prepared  work.  A  fuller  state- 
ment of  the  views  of  the  Conference  on  this  subject  will  be  found 
under  section  X.) 

VII.    DIVISION  OF  ENTRANCE  EXAMINATIONS. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  the  preliminary  examination  for  col- 
lege be  upon  the  essentials  of  grammar  (forms  and  syntax)  and  four  books 
of  the  Anabasis  or  its  equivalent ;  the  final  examination  to  be  upon  Attic 
prose  at  sight,  Homer,  and  Greek  Composition. 

The  Conference  does  not  favor  any  examination  upon  grammar 
apart  from  questions  suggested  by  the  text  set  for  translation,  and 
urges  that  the  questions  asked  aira  to  determine  the,  applicant's 


GREEK.  81 

knowledge  of  the  regular  and  more  common  inflections  and  construc- 
tions. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  examination  in  Greek  Composition 
form  part  of  the  final  examination,  as  the  Conference  believes  that 
practice  in  translation  into  Greek  should  be  continued  throughout  the 
school  course.  Since  Attic  Greek  must  be  the  basis  of  all  gram- 
matical study  of  Greek  in  schools,  it  follows  that  the  reading  of 
Attic  prose  ought  to  be  continued  parallel  with  the  work  in  Homer 
and  in  connection  with  the  composition  exercises.  By  this  means  a 
model  for  composition  is  secured  by  the  pupil,  and  his  knowledge  of 
Attic  Greek  is  increased  both  by  the  reading  and  by  the  comparisons 
drawn  between  the  Homeric  and  Attic  dialects. 


Vill.    DIFFERENT  CLASSES  OF  STUDENTS. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  no  difference  be  made  in  the  treatment 
of  Greek  for  the  three  classes  of  students  named  in  the  seventh  question 
suggested  by  the  Committee  of  Ten. 


Before  making  any  recommendations  as  to  methods  of  teaching 
Greek  in  the  preparatoiy  course,  the  Conference  adopted  the  follow- 
ing statement  as  a  definition  of  its  conception  of  the  purpose  of  the 
study  of  Greek  in  that  course  : 

The  suggestions  which  the  Conference  has  to  make  concerning  methods 
of  instruction  in  the  preparatory  course  are  primarily  determined  by  its 
conception  of  what  constitutes  the  distinctive  work  of  this  course.  This 
work  it  conceives  to  be  the  teaching  of  the  language  of  standard  Attic  prose 
through  instruction  in  Attic  grammar  and  reading  of  Attic  texts,  and  the 
awakening  of  interest  in  the  literature  and  thought  of  the  Greeks  through 
the  reading  of  Homer. 

IX.    INTRODUCTORY  WORK. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  the  work  in  Greek,  preceding  the 
reading  of  connected  discourse,  aim  to  secure  for  the  student  a  mastery  of 
the  common  forms  of  the  language,  facility  in  the  use  of  as  full  a  vocabu- 
lary as  possible,  and  an  acquaintance  with  the  simpler  principles  of  syntax. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Conference  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  ordi- 
nary forms  of  Greek  words  can  best  be  obtained  by  the  use  of  some 
manual  containing  the  more  common  paradigms,  short  and  simple 
sentences  for  translation  from  Greek  into  English  and  from  English 
into  Greek,  and  also  statements  of  the  simpler  principles  of  Greek 
6 


82  GREEK. 

syntax.  The  Conference  urges  that  written  as  well  as  oral  work  be 
constantly  required  iu  the  class  room  that  both  the  eye  and  the  ear 
may  be  appealed  to  in  fixing  firmly  in  the  pupil's  mind  the  forms  of 
the  language ;  and  that  in  all  exercises  special  attention  be  paid  to 
correct  pronunciation  of  the  Greek.  This  Conference  cannot  give  its 
approval  to  any  scheme  for  imparting  a  knowledge  of  Greek  inflec- 
tions, which  contemplates  the  learning  of  them  from  isolated  examples 
as  they  chance  to  occur  in  the  connected  text  of  a  classical  author. 
It  believes  that  any  such  attempt  involves  unnecessary  difficulties 
that  can  be  easily  avoided  by  requiring  pupils  to  memorise  together 
those  forms  that  are  closely  connected  in  form  and  meaning,  as 
exhibited  in  the  paradigms  usually  given  in  text  books.  The  Confer- 
ence feels  that  as  the  time  for  fixing  forms  by  repetition  is  limited,  a 
logical  and  systematic  order  should  be  followed  in  their  acquisition  ; 
and  while  the  Conference  believes  in  the  use  of  the  reasoning  powers 
and  of  inductive  methods  in  teaching  language,  it  cannot  view  with 
favor  any  effort  to  introduce  into  our  schools  Greek  text  books  based 
exclusively  on  the  so-called  u  Inductive  Method." 

The  Conference  cannot  urge  too  strongly  that  special  attention  be 
given  to  the  acquisition  of  a  vocabulary,  and  suggests  that  this  may 
best  be  accomplished  by  a  careful  memorising  of  the  vocabularies 
connected  with  the  exercises  and  by  a  systematic  study  of  groups  of 
allied  words.  By  a  judicious  selection  of  "root-words"  and  the 
mastery  of  the  meaning  of  terminations,  a  vocabulary,  adequate  to 
the  student's  needs  at  this  stage,  may  be  acquired  without  much 
difficulty.  Thus  a  necessary  foundation  for  easy  and  rapid  transla- 
tion will  be  laid,  and  the  habit  —  in  the  opinion  of  the  Conference  a 
very  important  habit  —  will  be  established  of  associating  related 
words  in  groups,  instead  of  regarding  them  as  isolated  and  discon- 
nected elements  of  the  language. 

This  introductory  work  in  Greek  should  include  also  a  study  of 
the  simpler  and  more  common  usages  of  syntax.  While  the  Con- 
ference would  not  have  grammatical  knowledge  considered  in  any 
sense  as  an  end  in  the  study  of  Greek,  yet  it  does  regard  such 
knowledge  as  an  essential  means  to  an  end,  and  therefore  urges  that 
it  be  not  neglected  during  the  introducton^  period  of  the  study.  The 
simpler  constructions  of  the  cases  of  nouns  and  of  the  moods  and 
tenses  of  verbs  should  be  stated  in  the  manual  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  pupil.  These  constructions  should  be  made  familiar  by  repeated 
reference  to  them  ;  but  whatever  is  unusual,  exceptional,  or  abstruse 
iu  ay  well  be  postponed  to  a  later  period  of  the  study.  In  all  this 
work  the  pupil  should  be  encouraged  to  draw  upon  his  knowledge  of 
Latin  syntax  for  illustration  and  comparison. 


GREEK.  83 


X.  READING,  TRANSLATION  AT  SIGHT,  AND  TRANSLATION  PROPER. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  intelligent  reading  of  the  Greek  text  in 
class  be  regarded  as  an  indispensable  part  of  the  work,  and  that  for  this 
careful  preparation  on  the  part  of  the  student  be  required ;  that  reading 
aloud  in  the  class  by  the  teacher,  as  well  as  by  the  pupil,  be  employed  as 
a  means  of  training  the  ear,  and  of  gaining  ability  to  grasp  readily  the 
thought  of  a  passage ;  that  from  the  outset  sight  translation  go  hand  in 
hand  with  the  prepared  translation,  and  that  for  this  purpose  the  text  of 
the  succeeding  lesson  or  lessons  be  preferred  to  that  of  a  separate  work ; 
that  there  be  also  some  translation  from  hearing,  of  both  prepared  and 
unprepared  work  ;  that  there  be  frequent  practice  in  the  reading  at  sight  of 
easy  passages  of  Greek  without  translation,  and  that,  in  order  to  be  sure 
that  the  meaning  of  the  passage  is  grasped,  the  pupil  be  required  to  state 
the  substance  of  the  passage  read ;  that  translation  of  the  Anabasis,  or  its 
equivalent,  be  begun,  at  latest,  in  the  last  half  of  the  first  year,  idiomatic 
English  being  demanded,  and  the  questions  on  the  text  being  asked  before 
or  after  the  connected  translation  of  the  whole  passage,  preferably  before. 

Reading  of  the  Greek  text  is  too  often  neglected  in  schools  with 
the  result  that  the  average  student  on  entering  college  cannot  read  a 
half-page  of  text  intelligently.  The  reader's  attention  is  so  fully 
absorbed  in  his  effort  to  pronounce  the  separate  words  that  he  gives 
little  or  no  thought  to  the  relation  of  the  words  in  a  sentence,  or  of 
the  sentences  in  a  paragraph.  Indeed,  it  is  not  too  strong  a  state- 
ment to  say  that  the  average  pupil  does  not  associate  the  reading  of 
a  sentence  in  Greek  with  the  determination  of  the  meaning  of  the 
same  sentence  ;  to  his  mind  these  are  two  separate  processes,  whereas 
he  should  regard  the  reading  of  the  text  as  a  necessary  means  to  the 
understanding  of  the  passage  read.  Therefore  .the  Conference  urges 
that  reading  of  the  text  be  constantly  practiced  by  both  teacher  and 
pupil;  that  no  attempt  to  translate  any  Greek  "  in  advance  "  be 
made  until  the  passage  has  been  caref  ull}T  read ;  and  that  teachers 
require  from  their  pupils  no  less  intelligent  reading  of  the  text  than 
accurate  translation  of  the  same. 

Without  underestimating  the  discipline  which  is  gained  from  the 
study  of  Greek,  or  disregarding  the  training  in  English  obtained  by 
careful  and  studied  translation,  the  Conference  conceives  that  one  of 
the  chief  objects  in  the  study  of  any  language  is  to  secure  for  the 
student  the  power  to  appreciate  the  form  and  substance  of  that  lan- 
guage. The  facts  of  a  literature  can  be  translated,  but  the  form, 
the  something  that  makes  every  translation  of  Homer  or  Dante 
inadequate,  cannot  be  alienated  from  its  proper  language.  In  the 
opinion  of  the  Conference,  therefore,  the  teaching  of  Greek  from  the 

1  '^M/fy^x. 

TIV°ERSITT 

CALIFORNIA 


84  GREEK. 

first  should  aim  to  give  the  pupil,  so  far  as  possible,  the  ability  to 
read  and  understand  'simple  Greek  as  he  reads.  To  obtain  this 
power  the  student  must,  first  of  all,  be  supplied  with  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  common  inflections  and  syntactical  constructions  of 
the  language,  and,  secondly,  he  must  gain  skill  in  using  this  know- 
ledge by  reading  as  large  amounts  of  text  as  possible.  Two  exer- 
cises should  be  constantly  employed  :  careful  preparation  of  text  by 
the  pupil  outside  the  class-room  and  reading  and  translation  at  sight 
in  the  class.  The  first  increases  the  pupil's  knowledge  of  the 
language  and  secures  to  him  independence  in  working,  while  "  sight 
work"  in  the  class  gives  him  a  free  opportunity  to  use  the  knowledge 
he  has  gained,  stimulates  his  interest,  and  quickens  his  perceptive 
faculties,  at  the  same  time  allowing  the  instructor  to  teach  the  best 
methods  of  approach  and  imparting  to  the  learner  a  sense  of  increasing 
power,  —  which  last  seems  to  the  Conference  a  most  important  result. 

As  stated  above,  the  Conference  believes  that  reading  of  the  text 
should  precede  any  attempt  at  translation,  and  it  would  have  a  clear 
distinction  made  between  the  determination  of  the  meaning  of  a 
passage  and  its  translation.  If  from  repeated  readings  of  the  text 
the  meaning  of  the  passage  in  hand  is  not  clear,  the  pupil  should  be 
taught  to  approach  the  passage  in  the  order  of  the  original,  and  to 
determine  its  meaning  word  by  word  by  noticing  the  inflectional  end- 
ings, the  force  of  compounds,  and  the  relation  of  ideas  implied  in  the 
position  of  words  and  phrases.  Only  when  the  meaning  of  a  passage 
has  been  fully  grasped,  should  the  pupil  be  allowed  to  attempt  a 
translation,  and  then  idiomatic  English  should  be  required.  The 
Conference  believes  that  if  translation  be  kept  distinct  from  the 
earlier  process  of  ascertaining  the  meaning  of  a  passage,  and  if  in 
translation  only  the  best  English  of  which  the  pupil  is  capable  is 
accepted,  the  translation  dialect,  with  its  injury  to  the  mother-tongue, 
can  be  made  to  disappear. 

While  reading  at  sight  may  fix  knowledge  already  gained  and  gives 
skill  in  using  such  knowledge,  it  adds  few  new  facts  to  the  pupil's 
fund  of  knowledge.  The  meanings  of  words,  new  constructions  and 
forms  must  be  dwelt  upon  to  be  fixed  in  his  memory.  Therefore 
it  is  recommended  that  this  sight  practice  be  given  on  the  passages 
which  follow  the  day's  lesson,  and  that  the  text  read  thus  hastily 
form  part  of  the  succeeding  day's  work  ;  by  this  method  the  new 
facts  presented  during  the  sight  reading  can  be  fixed  in  the  pupil's 
mind  by  his  own  study. 

As  the  teacher's  main  purpose  in  asking  questions  on  the  text  is  to 
obtain  proof  that  the  pupil  understands  the  passage  in  hand  and  is 
prepared  to  translate  it  intelligently,  the  Conference  advises  that 


GKEEK.  85 

such  questions  be  asked  before  translation  is  begun,  and,  since  noth- 
ing can  be  devised  to  destroy  all  interest  in  the  subject  matter  read 
more  thoroughly  than  the  habit  of  having  a  lesson  translated  in 
small  portions  of  a  few  lines  each,  the  translations  interrupted  with 
questions,  with  no  uninterrupted  translation  of  the  whole,  the  Con- 
ference urges  that  during  some  part  of  each  recitation  hour  a 
connected  translation  of  the  whole  lesson  be  made. 

XI.    PROSODY. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  in  the  study  of  Homer  attention  be 
given  from  the  beginning  to  the  rhythmical  reading  of  the  text ;  that  the 
teaching  of  prosody  be  limited  to  instruction  in  the  mast  essential  elements 
in  the  structure  of  the  verse ;  and  that  the  pupil  be  taught  to  use  the  know- 
ledge already  gained  from  the  metrical  reading  of  Virgil. 

To  get  an  adequate  appreciation  of  any  kind  of  Greek  poetry,  it 
must  be  read  rhythmically.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  Homeric 
poetry,  which  was  originally  composed  to  be  heard  rather  than  read. 
The  practice  of  translating  Homer  without  reading  the  text  in  its 
metrical  form  ought  not  to  be  tolerated.  The  teacher  of  Homer 
should  at  the  outset  read  the  text  to  his  pupils  and  enable  them  to 
appreciate  the  effect  of  a  rhythmical  recitation.  The  details  of  the 
structure  of  the  verse  will  best  be  learned  and  remembered  from 
constant  practice  in  metrical  reading. 


Voted :   To  concur  with  the  Latin  Conference  in  its  recommendations  as 
to  the  age  at  which  the  study  of  Latin  should  be  begun. 

The  above  is  respectfully  submitted  as  the  report  of  the  Conference 
on  Greek. 

(Signed.)  MARTIN   L.    D'OOGE,   Professor,  University  of 

Michigan,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  Chairman. 

CLIFFORD   H.  MOORE,  Phillips  Academy,  An-^ 
dover,  Mass.,  Secretary. 

E.  W.  COY,  Principal  of  the  Hughes  High  School, 
Cincinnati,  0. 

A.   F.    FLEET,    Superintendent   of   the    Missouri 
Military  Academy,  Mexico,  Mo. 

ASHLEY   D.  HURT,  Head   Master  of  the   High 
School,  Tu lane  University,  New  Orleans,  La. 

ROBERT  P.  KEEP,  Principal  of  the  Free  Acad- 
emy, Norwich,  Conn. 

ABBY  LEACH,  Professor,  Vassar  College,  Pough- 
keepsie,  N.  Y. 

WILLIAM   H.  SMILEY,  Principal  of  the   High 
School,  Denver,  Colo. 

CHARLES   FORSTER   SMITH,  Professor,    Van- 
derbilt  University,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

BENJ.  IDE  WHEELER,  Professor,  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, Ithaca,  N.  Y. 


ENGLISH. 

To  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TEN  :  — 

The  Conference  on  the  Study  of  English  has  the  honor  to  submit 
the  following  Report :  - 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  on  Wednesday,  December 
28th,  1892,  at  quarter  of  eleven  A.M.,  by  Professor  Allen.  Principal 
Thurber  was  elected  Chairman  and  Professor  Kittredge,  Secretary. 
The  Conference  remained  in  session  till  half  past  three  o'clock  Fri- 
da}*,  December  30th,  when  it  adjourned  sine  die.  Every  member  was 
present  at  the  deliberations  and  took  part  in  debate.  The  results 
embodied  in  the  present  Report  were  arrived  at  after  much  discus- 
sion, and  represent  in  all  but  a  few  points  of  minor  importance  the 
unanimous  opinion  of  the  Conference.  The  subjects  which  the  Con- 
ference thought  were  included  in  its  commission  are  those  usually 
taught  in  schools  under  the  names  of  English  Language,  English 
Grammar,  Composition,  Rhetoric,  and  English  Literature.  Elocution 
appeared  to  lie  outside  of  the  subjects  which  the  meeting  was  con- 
vened to  discuss. 

The  main  direct  objects  of  the  teaching  of  English  in  schools  seem 
to  be  two:  (1)  to^  enable  the  pupil  to  understand  the  expressed 
thoughts  of  others  and  to  give  expression  to  thoughts  of  his  own  ; 
and  (2)  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  reading,  to  give  the  pupil  some 
acquaintance  with  good  literature,  and  to  furnish  him  with  the  means 
of  extending  that  acquaintance.  Incidentally,  no  doubt,  a  variety  of 
other  ends  may  be  subserved  by  English  study,  but  such  subsidiary 
interests  should  never  be  allowed  to  encroach  on  the  two  main  pur- 
poses just  indicated.  Further,  though  it  may  be  necessary  to  consider 
these  main  purposes  separately  in  the  Report  or  even  to  separate 
thorn  formally  in  the  statement  of  a  programme,  yet  in  practice  they 
should  never  be  dissociated  in  the  mind  of  the  teacher  and  their 
mutual  dependence  should  be  kept  constantly  present  to  the  mind  of 
the  pupils.  The  recommendations  of  the  Conference  should  all  be 
interpreted  in  accordance  with  these  general  principles,  which  were 
never  lost  sight  of  in  its  debates. 

The  recommendations  of  the  Conference  fall  naturally  into  two 
divisions:  (1)  English  in  schools  below  the  high-school  grade,  and 
(2)  English  in  the  high-school. 


ENGLISH.  87 

I.  THE  STUDY  OP  ENGLISH  IN  SCHOOLS  BELOW  THE  HIGH-SCHOOL 

GRADE. 

If  the  pupil  is  to  secure  control  of  the  language  as  an  instrument 
for  the  expression  of  his  thoughts,  it  is  necessarjr  (1)  that,  during 
the  period  of  life  when  imitation  is  the  chief  motive  principle  in  edu- 
cation, he  should  be  kept  so  far  as  possible  away  from  the  influence 
oJLbad. models  and  under  the  influence  of  good  models,  and  (2)  that 
every  thought  which  he  expresses,  whether  orally  or  on  paper,  should 
be  regarded  as  a  proper  subject  for  criticism  as  to  language.  Thus 
every  lesson  in  geography  or  physics  or  mathematics  may  and  should 
become  a  part  of  the  pupil's  training  in  English.  There  can  be  no 
more  appropriate  moment  for  a  brief  lesson  in  expression  than  the 
moment  when  the  pupil  has  something  which  he  is  trying  to  express. 
If  this  principle  is  not  regarded,  a  recitation  in  history  or  in  botan}*, 
for  example,  may  easily  undo  all  that  a  set  exercise  in  English  has 
accomplished.  In  order  that  both  teacher  and  pupil  may  attach  due 
importance  to  this  incidental  instruction  in  English,  the  pupil's  stand- 
ing in  any  subject  should  depend  in  part  on  his  use  of  clear  and 
correct  English. 

In  addition  to  this  incidental  training,  appropriate  special  instruc- 
tion in  English  should  form  a  part  of  the  curriculum  from  the  begin- 
ning. For  convenience  this  special  instruction  may  be  considered 
under  three  heads :  (a)  "language"  and  composition,  (6)  formal  or 
systematic  grammar,  (c)  reading,  or  lessons  in  literature. 

A.  "  Language"  and  composition.  —  During  the  first  two  years  at 
school,  children  may  acquire  some  fluency  of  expression  by  rej^rodu.- 
cing  orally  in  their  own  words  stories  told  them  by  their  teachers  and 
by  inventing  stories  about  objects  and  pictures. 

Not  later  than  the  first  term  of  the  third  school-year  children  should 
begin  to  compose  in  writing.  To  assist  them  in  overcoming  mechan- 
ical difficulties  (as  of  punctuation,  the  use  of  capitals,  etc.),  they 
should  be  required  to  copy  and  to  write  from  dictation  and  from 
memory  short  and  easy  passages  of  prose  and  verse. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  third  to  the  end  of  the  sixth  school-year, 
"  language-work  "  should  be  of  three  kinds  : 

1.  Oral  and  written  exercises  in  the  correct  employment  of  the 
forms  of  the  so-called  "irregular"  verbs,  of  pronominal  forms,  and 
of  words  and  phrases  frequently  misused. 

2.  Oral  and  written  exercises  in  the  most  elementary  form  of  com- 
position, that  is,  in  the  construction  of  sentences  of  various  kinds. 
The  matter  out  of  which  the  sentences  are  to  be  constructed  may,  if 
necessary,  be  supplied  by  the  teacher ;  but  the  pupil  should,  from  his 


88  ENGLISH. 

earliest  3Tears,  be  encouraged  to  furnish  his  own  material,  expressing 
his  own  thoughts  in  a  natural  way.  The  greatest  care  should  be 
taken  to  make  these  exercises  practical  rather  than  technical  and  to 
avoid  the  errors  of  the  old-fashioned  routine  method  of  instruction  in 
grammar. 

3.  The  writing  of  narratives  and  descriptions. — These  exercises 
should  begin  with  the  third  school-year  and  should  be  continued 
throughout  the  course.  The  subjects  assigned  should  gradually  in- 
crease in  difficulty  :  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  school-years,  if  not 
earlier,  they  may  often  be  suggested  by  the  pupil's  observation  or 
personal  experience.  The  paraphrasing  of  poetry  is  not  to  be  com- 
mended as  an  exercise  in  prose  composition :  it  is  often  of  value  to 
require  the  pupil  to  tell  or  write,  in  his  own  words,  the  story  of  some 
narrative  poem  ;  but  the  reducing  of  lyric  poetry  to  prose  is  hardly  to 
be  defended.  Pains  should  be  taken,  from  the  outset,  to  enlarge  and 
improve  the  child's  vocabulary  by  suggesting  to  him,  for  the  expres- 
sion of  his  thoughts,  better  words  than  those  he  may  himself  have 
chosen.  He  should  be  trained  to  recognize  when  a  sentence  natur- 
ally closes,  and  should  be  warned  against  running  distinct  sentences 
together.  He  should  also  be  trained  to  perceive  the  larger  divisions 
of  thought  which  are  conventionally  indicated  by  paragraphs.  The 
teacher  should  bear  in  mind  that  the  necessity  of  correctness  in  the 
formation  of  sentences  and  paragraphs  is  like  the  necessity  of  accu- 
rate addition,  subtraction,  multiplication,  and  division  in  mathe- 
matical work,  and  that  composition  proper,  —  the  grouping  of 
sentences  and  paragraphs,  —  as  well  as  development  of  a  central 
idea,  should  never  be  taught  until  this  basis  of  correct  sentences  is 
attained. 

Spelling  should  be  learned  incidentally,  in  connection  with  every 
subject  studied,  and  not  from  a  spelling-book. 

Compositions  and  all  other  written  exercises  should  receive  careful 
and  appropriate  criticism,  and  the  staff  of  instructors  should  be  large 
enough  to  protect  every  teacher  from  an  excess  of  this  peculiarly 
exacting  and  fatiguing  work. 

B.  Formal  or  systematic  grammar.  —  Not  earlier  than  the  thirteenth 
year  of  the  pupil's  age  the  study  of  formal  grammar,  with  drill  in 
fundamental  analysis,  may  be  taken  up.  It  should  not  be  pursued~as 
a  separate  study  longer  than  is  necessary  to  familiarize  the  pupil  with 
the  main  principles.  Probably  a  single  year  (not  more  than  three 
hours  a  week)  will  be  sufficient.  Subsequently,  although  gram- 
matical analysis  (as  an  instrument  of  interpretation  and  of  criticism) 
may  properly  accompany  reading  and  the  study  of  composition,  it 
should  not  be  regarded  as  a  separate  subject  in  the  curriculum. 


ENGLISH.  89 

The  teaching  of  formal  grammar  should  aim  principally  to  enable 
the  pupil  (1)  to  recognize  the  parts  of  speech,  and  (2)  to  analyze 
sentences  both  as  to  structure  and  as  to  syntax.  Routine  parsing 
should  be  avoided,  and  exercises  in  the  correction  of  false  syntax 
should  be  sparingly  resorted  to. 

The  study  of  word-analysis  (etymology),  —  including  the  subjects 
of  root- words,  prefixes,  and  terminations  —  should  not  form  a  sepa- 
rate subject  in  the  grammar-school  course.  All  instruction  in  these 
matters  should  be  incidental. 

With  regard  to  the  study  of  formal  grammar  the  Conference  wishes 
to  lay  stress  on  three  points  :  (1)  a  student  may  be  taught  to  speak 
and  write  good  English  without  receiving  any  special  instruction  in 
formal  grammar ;  (2)  the  study  of  formal  grammar  is  valuable  as 
training  in  thought,  but  has  only  an  indirect  bearing  on  the  art  of 
writing  and  speaking ;  and  (3)  the  teaching  of  formal  grammar 
should  be  as  far  as  possible  incidental  and  should  be  brought  into 
close  connection  with  the  pupil's  work  in  reading  and  composition. 
These  principles  explain  the  considerable  reduction  recommended  by 
the  Conference  in  the  amount  of  time  allowed  to  this  study. 

C.  Reading,  or  Lessons  in  Literature.  —  Reading-books  should  be 
of  a  literary  character  and  should  not  attempt  to  teach  physical 
science  or  natural  history.  They  should  make  very  sparing  use  of 
sentimental  poetry. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  third  year  at  school,  the  pupil  should  be 
required  to  supplement  his  regular  reading-book  with  other  reading- 
matter  of  a  distinctly  literary  kind.  At  the  beginning  of  the  seventh 
school-year  the  reading-book  may  be  discarded,  and  the  pupil  should 
henceforth  read  literature,  —  prose  and  narrative  poetry  in  about 
equal  parts.  Complete  W-Qjks  should  usually  be  studied.  When 
extracts  must  be  resorted  to,  these  should  be  long  enough  to  possess 
a  unity  of  their  own  and  to  serve  as  a  fair  specimen  of  an  author's 
style  and  method.  Children  should  be  taught  to  read  distinctly  and 
with  expression,  but  without  exaggeration  or  mannerisms.  They 
should  be  taught  to  comprehend  the  subject-matter  as  a  whole  and  to 
grasp  the  significance  of  p-irts,  as  well  as  to  discover  and  appreciate 
beauties  of  thought  and  expression.  Due  attention  should  be  paid  to 
what  are  sometimes  thoughtlessly  regarded  as  points  of  pedantic 
detail,  such  as  the  elucidation  of  involved  sentences,  the  expansion 
of  metaphors  into  similes  and  the  compression  of  similes  into  meta- 
phors, the  tracing  of  historical  and  other  references,  and  a  study  of 
the  denotation  and  connotation  of  single  words.  Such  details  are 
necessary  if  the  pupil  is  to  be  brought  to  anything  but  the  vaguest 
understanding  of  what  he  reads,  and  there  is  no  danger  that  an  Intel- 


90  ENGLISH. 

ligent  teacher  will  allow  himself  to  be  dominated  by  them.  It  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  in  these  early  years  of  his  training  the  pupil  is 
forming  habits  of  reading  and  of  thought  which  will  either  aid  him 
for  the  rest  of  his  life,  or  of  which  he  will  by-and-by  have  to  cure 
himself  with  painful  effort. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Conference  it  is  expedient  that  the  English 
work  during  the  last  two  years  of  the  grammar-school  course  (includ- 
ing formal  grammar,  reading,  and  composition)  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  a  speciaLl£iLC,her  or  teachers.  But  the  appointment  of  such 
teacher  or  teachers  should  not  be  held  to  excuse  the  instructors  in 
other  subjects  from  the  oversight  of  the  English  of  their  pupils.  It 
is  only  by  cordial  cooperation  in  all  departments  that  satisfactory 
results  in  this  direction  can  be  obtained.  To  the  lack  of  such  joint 
effort  the  present  unsatisfactory  condition  of  English  study  in  the 
schools  and  colleges  ma}'  be  in  great  part  ascribed. 

II.    THE  STUDY  OF  ENGLISH  IN  THE  HIGH-SCHOOL. 

The  Conference  is  of  opinion  that  the  study  of  English  should  be 
pursued  in  the  high-school  for<five  hours  a  week  during  the  entire 
course  of  four  years.7  This  would  make  the  total  amount  of  available 
time  not  far  from  eight  hundred  hours  (or  periods) . 

The  study  of  literature  and  training  in  the  expression  of  thought, 
taken  together,  are  the  fundamental  elements  in  any  proper  high- 
school  course  in  English,  and  demand  not  mere!}"  the  largest  share  of 
time  and  attention  but  continuous  and  concurrent  treatment  through- 
out the  four  3Tears.  The  Conference  therefore  recommends  the 
assignment- of  three  hours  a  week  for  four  years  (or  480  hours  in  the 
total)  to  the  study  of  literature,  and  the  assignment  of  two  hours  a 
week  for  the  first  two  years,  and  one  hour  a  week  for  the  last  two 
years  (or  240  hours  in  the  total)  to  training  in  composition.  By  the 
study  of  literature  the  Conference  means  the  study  of  the  works-  of 
good  authors,  net  the  study  of  a  manual  of  literary  history. 

Rhetoric,  during  the  earlier  part  of  the  high-school  course,  connects 
itself  directly,  on  the  one  hand,  with  the  study  of  literature,  furnish- 
ing the  student  with  apparatus  for  analysis  and  criticism,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  with  practice  in  composition,  acquainting  the  student 
with  principles  and  maxims  relating  to  effective  discourse.  For  this 
earlier  stage,  therefore,  extending  through  the  first  two  years,  no 
assignment  of  hours  to  rhetoric  has  been  deemed  advisable,  and  an 
assignmeiit  of  one  hour  a  week  in  the  third  year  (a  total  of  40  hours) , 
is  thought  sufficient  for  any  systematic  view  of  rhetoric  that  should 
be  attempted  in  the  high  school.  It  will  be  observed,  however,  that 


ENGLISH.  91 

if  the  teacher  has  borne  in  mind  the  practical  uses  of  rhetoric  in  the 
first  two  3'ears,  he  will  have  conveyed  the  essentials  of  the  art  (with 
or  without  references  to  a  text-book)  before  the  systematic  view 
begins,  so  that  this  view  will  be  a  kind  of  codification  of  prinicples 
already  applied  in  practice. 

The  history  of  English  literature  should  be  taught  incidentally,  in 
connection  with  the  pupil's  study  of  particular  authors  and"  works ; 
the  mechanical  use  of  %t  manuals  of  literature"  should  be  avoided, 
and  the  committing  to  memory  of  names  and  dates  should  not  be 
mistaken  for  culture.  In  the  fourth  year,  however,  an  attempt  may 
be  made,  by  means  of  lectures  or  otherwise,  to  give  the  pupil  a  view 
of  our  literature  as  a  whole  and  to  acquaint  him  with  the  relations 
between  periods.  This  instruction  should  accompany, — not  super- 
sede, —  a  chronologically  arranged  sequence  of  authors.  In  connec- 
tion with  it  a  syllabus  or  brief  primer  may  be  used. 

To  the  subject  of  Historical  and  Systematic  (or  Formal)  Grammar, 
one  hour  a  week  in  the  fourth  year  (a  total  of  40  hours)  may  be  assigned. 

In  the  present  state  of  text-books  and  teachers,  the  study  of  the 
History  of  English  Language  cannot,  perhaps,  be  generally  or  even 
extensively  introduced  into  the  high  schools.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the 
Conference,  however,  that  certain  parts  of  that  study  may  be  profit- 
ably undertaken  during  the  last  }'ear  of  the  high-school  course,  and 
that  some  systematic  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  language  is  of 
value  to  the  student  who  goes  no  farther  than  the  high  school,  as  well 
as  to  the  student  preparing  for  college. 

It  is  obvious  that  without  a  knowledge  of  Anglo-Saxon  and  Middle- 
English  nothing  can  be  accomplished  by  a  study  of  the  history  of 
sound  change  as  exemplified  in  derivation,  word-composition,  and 
inflections,  nor  can  any  great  good  come  from  an  illustration  of 
modern  syntax  through  the  syntax  of  stages  of  the  language  with 
which  the  student  is  unfamiliar ;  but,  although  these  important 
branches  of  the  subject  must  necessarily  be  reserved  to  a  later  period, 
it  appears  evident  that  certain  other  branches  of  the  study  might  be 
pursued  to  advantage  even  by  pupils  who  have  no  knowledge  either 
of  the  earlier  stages  of  English  or  of  any  foreign  tongue.  The 
Conference  has  in  mind  the  following  topics  :  — 

1.  The  History  and  Geography  of  the  English  speaking  people,  so 
far  as  these  illustrate  the  development  of  the  English  language. 

2.  Phonetics.  — Though  we  do  not  recommend  any  stud}'  of  details 
in  the  historical  development  of  English  spelling,  we  think  it  essential 
that  every  high  school  scholar  should  possess  a  clear  idea  of  the 
general  causes  which  have  given  English  the  peculiar  value  of  its 
vowel  symbols,  and  made  them  essentially  different  from  the  system 


92  ENGLISH. 

of  other  languages.  Such  study  would  prevent,  for  example,  acquies- 
cence in  the  common  error  of  regarding  the  vowels  in  rid  and  ride  as 
the  short  and  the  long  of  the  same  sound. 

3.  Word- Composition.  —  The  historical  study  of  inflections  and  of 
word-composition  should  not  be  included  in  this  scheme.     But  some 
elementary  treatment  of  prefixes  and  suffixes  and  of  word-composition 
may  come  in  incidentally.     The  purpose  of  including  it,  however,  is 
rather   to   illustrate    principles    of    historical   development   than    to 
acquaint  the  pupil  with  a  bod}'  of  details. 

4.  Elements  of  the  Eiiglish  Vocabulary.  —  This  branch  of  English 
study  is  already  pursued  in  some  secondary  schools  as  an  independent 
subject,  with  the  aid,  perhaps,  of  such  a  book  as  Trench's  "  On  the 
Study  of  Words  "  ;  but  the  view  of  the  Conference  is  that  it  would  be 
better  to  include  it  as  a  part  of  a  systematic  treatment  of  the  history 
of  the  language.     The  extent  to  which  the  stud}'  of  the  sources  of 
English  words  can  be  carried  in  any  school  or  class  will  depend  on 
the  acquaintance  the  pupils  possess  with  Latin,  French,  and  German. 
This  subject  should  be  so  pursued  as  to  illustrate  the  political,  social, 
intellectual,  and  religious  development  of  the  English  race  ;  and  the 
knowledge  thus  obtained  will  be  profitable  to  youth  only  in  propor- 
tion as  it  links  itself  with  other  knowledge  derived  from  their  general 
reading  or  from  their  other  school  work. 

5.  Changes   in   the   meaning  of  ivords.  —  A   systematic  study  of 
development  in  the  meaning  of  words  should  not  come  in  as  a  distinct 
part  of  this  plan.     Such  study  should  however,  of  course,  be  included 
incidentally  in  the  interpretation  of  literature. 

The  teacher  must  of  course  be  familiar  with  the  more  important 
facts  of  historical  English  grammar,  and  be  able  to  use  them  in  con- 
nection with  the  study  of  any  branch  of  English,  whenever  they  serve 
to  explain  difficulties  or  to  fix  grammatical  principles.  In  addition 
to  those  parts  of  historical  grammar  that  have  been  more  specifically 
mentioned  above,  the  following  may  be  noted,  as  illustrations  of  the 
topics  of  this  subject  that  may  receive  attention  in  high  schools,  so 
far  as  the  advancement  of  the  pupils  in  general  linguistic  study  rend- 
ers it  advisable,  and  so  far  as  time  and  opportunit}'  can  be  found  for 
such  work  :  —  dialects  and  literary  language,  authority  and  usage, 
decay  of  inflections. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  the  Conference  that  the  best  results  in  the 
teaching  of  English  in  high  schools  cannot  be  secured  without  the  aid 
given  by  the  study  of  some  other  language,  and  tnat  Latin  -and 
German,  by  reason  of  their  fuller  inflectional  system  are  especially 
suited  to  this  end. 


ENGLISH.  93 

The.  Conference  wishes  also  to  emphasize  in  the  case  of  high-schools 
what  has  been  already  said  with  regard  to  schools  of  lower  grade : 
that  every  teacher,  whatever  his  department,  should  feel  responsible 
for  the  use  of  good  English  on  the  part  ofliis  pupils. 

The  question  of  requirements  for  admission  to  college  was  carefully 
considered  by  the  Conference  and  a  definite  scheme  of  examinations 
devised  for  recommendation  to  American  colleges.  These  recom- 
mendations concern  all  scholars  in  high-schools,  for  the  Conference  is 
of  opinion  that  the  high-school  course  in  English  should  be  identical 
forjjtudents  who  intend  to  go  to  college  or  to  a  scientific  school,  and 
for  those  who  do  not,  and  that  the  requirements  in  English  for  admis- 
sion to  college  or  to  a  scientific  school  should  be  so  adjusted  as  not 
to  contravene  this  principle.  The  practice  now  too  prevalent  of  main- 
taining one  course  in  English  for  pupils  who  intend  to  go  to  college, 
another  for  candidates  for  admission  to  a  scientific  or  technical  school, 
and  a  third  for  pupils  whose  schooling  ends  with  their  graduation 
from  the  high-school,  cannot  be  defended  on  any  reasonable  grounds. 
There  is  no  good  reason  wh}^  one  of  these  three  classes  of  students 
should  receive  a  training  in  their  mother  tongue  different  either  in  kind 
or  in  amount  from  that  received  by  either  of  the  other  two  classes. 

The  Conference  is  also  convinced  that  the  cause  of  secondary 
education  would  be  materially  helped  if  the  requirements  for  admission 
to  college,  in  English  as  in  other  subjects,  were  to  be  made  uniform 
in^kind  throughout  the  countr}'.  Uniformity  in  amount  is  certainly 
not  practicable  and  probably  not  desirable. 

The  specific  recommendations  of  the  Conference  as  to  English 
requirements  for  admission  to  colleges  and  scientific  schools  are  the 
following  :  — 

1.  That  the  reading  of  certain  masterpieces  of  English  literature, 
not  fewer  in  number  than  those  at  present  assigned  by  the  Commission 
of  New  England  Colleges,  should  be  required. 

2.  Each  of  these  should  be  so  far  as  possible  representative  of  some 
period,   tendency,   or   type   of   literature,   in  order  that  alternative 
questions   like  those   suggested   in  §   5    (below)   may  be   provided. 
The  whole   number   of  these    works    selected   for   any   year   should 
represent  with  as  few  gaps  as  possible  the  course  of  English  literature 
from  the  Elizabethan  period  to  the  present  time. 

3.  Of  these  books  a  considerable  number  should  be  of  a  kind  to  be 
read  by  the  student  cursorily  and  by  himself.     A  limited  number, 
however,  may  be  read  in  the  class-room  under  the  immediate  direction 
of  the  teacher. 

4.  In  connection  with  the  reading   of    all   these  required   books 
the  teacher  should  encourage  parallel  or  subsidiary  reading  and  the 


94  ENGLISH. 

investigation  of  pertinent  questions  in  literary  history  and  criticism. 
The  faithfulness  with  which  such  auxiliary  work  is  carried  on  should 
be  constantly  tested  by  means  of  written  and  oral  reports  and  class- 
room discussion,  and  the  same  tests  should  be  applied  to  the 
required  books  read  cursorily  (see  §  3). 

5.  The  Conference  doubts  the  wisdom  of  requiring,  for  admission 
to  college,  set  essays  (e.  g.,  on  the  books  prescribed,  as  above,  §1), 
—  essay's  whose  chief  purpose  is  to  test  the  pupil's  ability  to  write 
English.     It  believes  that  there  are  serious  theoretical  and  practical 
objections  to  estimating  a  student's  power  to  write  a  language  on  the 
basis  of  a  theme  composed  not  for  the  sake  of  expounding  something 
that  he  knows  or  thinks,  but  merely  for  the  sake  of  showing  his  ability 
to  write. 

Therefore,  so  long  as  the  formal  essay  remains  a  part  of  the  admis- 
sion examination,  it  is  recommended  that  questions  on  topics  of 
literary  history  or  criticism,  or  on  passages  cited  from  prescribed 
works,  be  set  as  an  alternative.  These  topics  and  passages  should  be 
such  as  (1)  to  bring  out  the  knowledge  of  the  pupil  with  regard  to 
the  subjects  suggested  in  §  4,  and  (2)  to  test  his  ability  to  methodize 
his  knowledge  and  to  write  clearly  and  concisely.  The  questions  set 
should  be  so  framed  as  to  require  answers  of  some  length.1 

6.  The  Conference  is  of  opinion  that  in  the  hands  of  any  but  a 
highly  intelligent  teacher  exercises  in  the  correction  of  bad  English 
may  do  more  harm  than  good.    And  therefore  the  Conference  believes 
that  the  correction  of  specimens  of  bad  English  should  not  form  a 
considerable  part  of    the  admission   examination,2  though   it  is  not 
prepared   to   recommend   the    exclusion   of  such  specimens.      Care 
should  be  taken  that  those  selected  are  really  offences  against  good 
English   (not  merely  against  good  style)  and,  further,  that  they  are 
such  offences  as  experience  has  shown  young  writers  are  prone  to 
commit.     Obscure  sentences  and  nonsensical  or  puzzling  combina- 
tions of  words  should  be  avoided. 

7.  The  admission  of  a  student  to  college  so  far  as  English  is  con- 
cerned, should  be  made  to  depend  largely  on  his  ability  to  write  Eng- 
lish as  shown  in  his  examination-books  on  other  .subjects   (such  as 
history).     If  the  candidate's  translations  from  foreign  languages  are 
used  for  this  purpose,  the  examiner  should  remember  that  vagueness 
and  absurdity  in  such  translations  often  result  from  ignorance  of  the 
foreign  language  rather  than  from  incompetent  knowledge  of  one's 
mother   tongue,  and  that,  further,  the  art  of  translation  is  a  very 
difficult  art  even  to  a  writer  who  is  at  home  in  both  the  languages 

1  Not  less  than  a  page  of  the  examination-book. 

2  Say  not  more  than  one-fifth. 


ENGLISH.  95 

concerned.  A  student  who  in  general  writes  well  enough  may,  from 
either  or  both  of  these  causes,  appear  to  very  poor  advantage  in  an 
exercise  in  translation. 

8.  Though  it  is  clear  that  the  power  to  write  a  language  can  be  ob- 
tained only  by  unremitting  practice,  yet,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Con- 
ference, such  practice  may  properly  be  accompanied  and  illustrated 
by  a  course  in  elementary  rhetoric.     This  course  should  include  not 
only  the  principles  of  clearness,  force,  and  good  taste,  but  the  princi- 
ples of  the  arrangement  of  clauses  in  the  sentence  and  of  sentences 
in  the  paragraph.     The  teacher  should  bear  in  mind  that  any  body 
of  written  English,  of  whatever  length,  is  an  organic  unit,  with  prin- 
ciples that  appl}r  as  well  to  the  arrangement  of  the  minor  elements  as 
to  the  grouping  of  the  larger  divisions  of  essay  or  book.     Especial 
care  should  be  taken  that  rhetoric  is  not  studied  by  itself  or  for  its 
own  sake.     Its  connection  with  the  pupil's  actual  written  or  spoken 
exercises  should  be  kept  constantly  in  view.     The  Conference  there- 
fore does  not  contemplate  an  examination  in  formal  rhetoric  as  a 
requirement  for  admission  to  college. 

9.  There  should  be  no  division  of  the  admission  examination  in 
English.     When  a  college  or  scientific  school   allows  a  division  of 
admission  requirements  into    "preliminary"    and    "final,"   English 
should  be  a  "  final"  subject. 

10.  The  relative  importance  of  the  English  language  and  literature 
as  a  subject  among  other  requirements  for  admission  to  college  is 
about  one  in  six ;  but  the  Conference  feels  strongly  that  no  student 
should  be  admitted  to  college  who  shows  in  his  English  examination 
and  in  his  other  examinations  (as  in  §  7)  that  he  is  very  deficient  in 
ability  to  write  good  English. 

May  13th,  1893. 

SAMUEL  THURBER,  Master  of  the  Girls  High 
School,  Boston,  Mass.,  Chairman. 

GEORGE  LYMAN  KITTREDGE,  Professor,  Har- 
vard University,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  Secretary. 

EDW.  A.  ALLEN,  Professor,  University  oj 
Missouri, Columbia,  Mo. 

F.  A.  B  ARBOUR,  Principal  Michigan  State  Normal 
School,  Ypsilant"',  Mich. 

F.  A.  BLACKBURN,  Professor,  University  of 
Chicago,  Chicago,  III. 

C.  B.  BRADLEY,  Professor,  University  of  Cali- 
fornia, Berkeley,  Gal. 

FRANCIS  B.  GUMMERE,  Professor,  Haverford 
College,  Pa. 

EDWARD  E.  HALE,  JR.,  Professor,  University 
of  Iowa,  Iowa  City,  la. 

CHARLES  L.  LOOS,  JR.,  High  School,  Dayton,  0. 

WM.  H.  MAXWELL,  Superintendent  of  Schools, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


OTHER  MODERN  LANGTAGES. 

CABKIDGE.  M.irch  11,  1893. 
'o  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TEN  : 

Gentlemen, — The  Conference  on  Modern  .anguages,  which  met 
i  Washington   on  the  28th,   29th,   and  30i  of  December,    1- 

ubmits  the  following  report. 

C.  II  -r.ENT,  Chairman. 

A.   TIME  OF  INTRODUCTI 

1.  Wherever  thoroughly  competent  teaches  can  be  secured,  we 
re  of  the  opinion  that  there  should  be  introdced  into  the  grammar 
chools  an  elective  course  in  German  or  Freeh,  open  to  all  pupils 
'ho  have  arrived  at  the  fourth  year  from  I     ifl  <up posed 
lat  the  average  boy  or  girl  will  reach  this  .n^e  at  the  age  of  ten. 
^e  make  the  above  recommendation,  not  wh  a  view  to  separa* 

t  such  an  early  period,  the  scholars  who  ar>  likely  to  enter  a  high 
3hool  or  college  from  those  who  are  to  recive  only  elementary  in- 
:ructiou,  but  in  the  firm  belief  that  the  ediui.onal  effects  of  modern 
inguage  study  will  be  of  immense  benefit    )  all  who  are   al>le  to 
ursue  it  under  proper  guidance.       It   will   \\\\\  tlit-ir  memory  and 
evelop  their  sense  of  accuracy;  it  will  quictoi  and  >tivngthen  • 
jasoning  powers  by  offering  them,  at  every  <-p.  problems  that  : 
e  immediately  solved  by  the  correct  appi    ;i<»n  of  the  n-sul' 
leiv  own  observation  ;  it  will  help  them  1  tand  th<-  structure 

f  the  English  sentence  and  the  real  inea  lln-l'isli  words  ;  it 

ill  broaden  their  minds  by  revealing  to  thei  thought  and 

jpression  different  from  those  to  which  tU  Mave  ln-cn  a<-<-uM<>nic<l. 
he  stud)*  of  Latin  appears,  it  is  true,  i  !f>i-nt  these  same  ad- 
intages  ;  but  living  languages  seem  to  u-  iaptod  to  grainmar 

;hool  work,  both  on  account  of  the  gi>  with  which  they  can 

3  taught  and  learned,  and  because  of  thir  closer  relation  to  the 
iterests  and  ideas  of  to-day. 

2.  We  believe  that  children  should,  if  p*sibleT  begin  their  studv 
f  German  or  French  by  the  time  they  a;      in  years  old.     At  that 
2je  their  perceptions  are  acute,  their  vocn  o"rgans  are  still  llexihle, 
id  they  are  comparatively  free   from  th&  morbid  fear  of  ridicule 
hich  impedes  their  progress  in  later  \  eai  ;  consequently  they  are 
?le  to  acquire  a   tolerably  correct    prouuciation   and    make  some 
3adway  in    the  practical    use  of   the    laizuage.       Moreover,   their 
terest  is  easily  kindled,  and  they  ai«  to   imbibe  the  life  and 


OTHER    MODERN    LANGUAGES.  97 

spirit  of  a  foreign  tongue.  We  do  not  on  the  other  hand,  recommend 
the  introduction  of  German  or  French  earlier  than  the  fifth  school 
year,  because  we  fear  that  if  it  were  begun  sooner,  it  would  necessa- 
rily be  broken  off  before  the  end  of  the  grammar  school  course  ;  and 
any  interruption  of  the  modern  language  study  should,  in  our  opinion, 
be  carefully  avoided. 

3.  In  places  where  it  is  as  yet  impossible,  through  lack  of  teachers 
or  of  money,  to  include  a  modern  language  in  the  grammar  school 
curriculum,  we  believe  that^E^ench  or  German  should  form,  from  the 
very  first,  a  part  of  the  high  school  course  y  it  is  essential  that  pupils 
should  study  at  least  one  language  long  enough  to  reach  some  degree 
of  maturity  in  it.     If,  however,  classes  are  obliged,  for  any  reason, 
to  begin  Latin  or  Greek  on  entering  the  secondary  school,  we  recom- 
mend that  the  study  of  French  or  German  be  postponed  a  twelve- 
month ;    for  we  regard  as   entirely  inexpedient'  the  introduction  of 
two  foreign  languages  in  the  same  year.     When  a  minimum  of  French 
or  German  is  offered  as  a  supplement  to  a  curriculum  comprising  two 
other  foreign  languages,  the  last  language  should  be  taken  up  in  the 
third  year. 

JB.    NUMBER  OF  LESSONS  PER  WEEK. 

4.  In  the  grammar  grade  we  recommend  that  during  the  first  year 
five  recitation  periods  per  week  be  given  to  the  modern  language ; 
during  the  second,  at  least;  four;  and  during  each  of  the  other  two 
years,  at  least  three.     To  be  successful,  the  study  of  a  new  language 
should  present  a  sufficient  number  of  weekly  exercises  to  enlist  and 
hold  the  full  interest  of  the  pupils.     In  the  case  of  young  children, 
especially,  it  is  found  that  more  is  accomplished  by  short  but  frequent 
lessons  than  by  longer  ones  at  greater  intervals. 

5.  For  the  high  school  we  make  the  following  recommendations, 
which   refer,  of   course,   only  to  modern  languages :    (a)    the  first 
foreign  language  studied  should  be  taken  up  at  once  and  carried  on, 
with  four  recitations  a  week,  through  all  four  years  ;   (b)  the  second 
foreign  language  studied —  whether  the  first  be  ancient  or  modern  — 
should  be  begun  the  second  year  and  continued;  with  four  exercises 
per  week,  through  the  rest  of  the  course  ;  ~(c)  the  third  foreign  lan- 
guage studied  —  whatever  be  the  nature  of  the  other  two  —  should  be 
introduced  in  the  third  year  and  pursued,  with  three  lessons  weekly, 
during   the   last   two  years.     In   the  third    case   the  suggestion   of 
three  hours  a  week  for  two  years,  rather  than  five  recitations  weekly 
for  one  year,  is  made  with  a  view  to  avoiding  too  much  pressure 
during  the  last  year,  when  the  pupil  is  most  likely  to  be  overworked, 
and  a  new  subject  is  in  greatest  danger  of  being  slighted ;    under 

7 


98  OTHER   MODERN   LANGUAGES. 

different  circumstances  five  exercises  per  week  for  one  year  might, 
in  our  opinion,  give  somewhat  better  results  than  three  hours  weekly 
for  two. 

6.  It  will  be  seen  that  we  take  for  granted  a  high  school  course  of 
four  years  and  a  primary  and  grammar  school  course  extending  over 
at  least  eight  years.      The  following  table  shows  at  a  glance  the  pro- 
posed number  of  modern  language  recitations  per  week  during  the 
different  years  mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  :  — 

SCHOOL  YEAR:    1st.  2d.  3d.  4th.  Slh.  6th.  7th.  8th. 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS  —  First  Language  :  5433 

SCHOOL  YEAR  :       1st.  2d.  3d.   4th. 
f   Maximum    J    First  Language  :       4444 

SECONDARY    SCHOOLS]  <•    Second  Language :          4     4     4 

j^   Minimum, — 1  Third  Language  :  3      3 

In  general  the  two  maximum  courses  in  secondary  schools  are  sup- 
posed to  cover  the  same  ground  :  it  is  thought  that  the  facility  gained 
by  the  previous  study  of  another  language  will  compensate  for  the 
loss  of  one  year.  But  where  the  elementary  schools  offer  a  German 
or  a  French  course,  we  intend  that  the  first  language  studied  in  the 
high  school  shall  be  the  same  one  that  was  begun  in  the  grammar 
grade ;  and  in  this  case  the  first  maximum  will  comprise  more  than 
the  second. 

C.   COURSE  OF  STUDY. 

7.  According  to  our  best  judgment,  all  pupils  of  the  same  intelli- 
gence and  the  same  degree  of  maturity  should  be  instructed  alike, 
no  matter  whether  they  are  subsequently  to  enter  a  college  or  scien- 
tific school,  or  intend  to  pursue  their  studies  no  further. 

I.    Grammar  Schools. 

8.  It  is  expected  that  during  the  first  two  years  the  lessons  will 
consist  of  interesting  but  systematic  oral  exercises,  combined  with 
the  use  of  pictures  and  the  reading  of  very  elementary  texts.     The 
mass  of  knowledge  thus  acquired  will,  in  the   other  two  years,  be 
classified,  extended,  and  fixed  in  the  memory  by  means  of  a  larger 
amount  of  reading  and  a  more  formal  study  of  grammatical  principles. 
It  is  hoped,  however,  that  oral  work  will  not  be  neglected  during  any 
part  of  the  course.     The  objects  to  be  attained  in  these  four  years 
fire  :    (a)  a  good  pronunciation  ;   (b)  ability  to  understand  very  easy 
German  or  French  when  it  is  spoken ;   (c)   ability  to  read,  without 
painful  effort,  simple  stories  in  the  foreign  language ;   (d)  ability  to 
construct  short  German  or  French  sentences,  applying  the  elementary 


OTHER    MODERN    LANGUAGES.  99 

rules  of  grammar.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  Conference  that  such  a 
course  as  we  have  outlined  would,  in  the  hands  of  a  competent 
teacher,  produce  results  of  permanent  value,  whether  the  study  be 
considered  as  a  means  of  mental  training  or  as  a  foundation  for 
further  work  in  the  same  line. 

II.    High  Schools. 

9.  In  the  following  paragraphs  the  term  "elementary"  will  be 
applied  to.  the  first  half  of  the  maximum  courses  and  to  the  entire 
minimum  course  (see  §  6)  ;  the  second  half  of  the  maximum  courses 
will  be  called  "  advanced."     The  numbers  of  pages  specified  below 
are  intended  to  include  not  only  prepared  work  but  all  sight  reading 
done  in  the  class.     Our  recommendations  are  practically  the  same  as 
those  of  the  Commission  of  Colleges  in  New  England  on  Admission 
Examinations.     We  are  in  favor  of  a  course  of  study  that  will  pro- 
duce the  following  results  :  — 

10.  In  Elementary  German.  —  (a)  Familiarity  with  the  rudiments 
of  grammar,  and  especially  with  these  topics  :    the  declension  of  arti- 
cles, adjectives,  pronouns,  and  such  nouns  as  are  readily  classified  ;  the 
conjugation- of  weak  and  of  the  more  usual  strong  verbs;  the  com- 
moner  prepositions  ;  the  simpler  uses  of  the  modal  auxiliaries  ;  the 
elementary  rules  of  syntax  and  woriLorder.     (b)  Ability  to  translate 
at  sight  a  passage  of  easy  prose  containing  no  rare  words.      It  is 
believed  that  the  requisite  facility  can  be  acquired  by  reading  not  less 
than  two  hundred  duodecimo  pages  of  simple  German,     (c)  Ability 
to  pronounce  German  and   to  recognize   German  words  and   easy 
sentences  when  they  are  uttered. 

11.  Li  Advanced  German. —  (a)  Proficiency  in  more  advanced 
grammar.     In  addition  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  accidence,  of  the 
elements  of  word-formation,  and  of  the  principal  values  of  prepo- 
sitions  and  conjunctions,   the  scholars   must   be   familiar  with  the 
essentials  of  German  syntax,  and  particularly  with  the  uses  of  modal 
auxiliaries  and  the  subjunctive  and  infinitive  modes.     (6)  Ability  co 
translate  ordinary  German.      It  is  thought  that  pupils  can  acquire 
'this  ability  by  reading,  in  all,  not  less  than  seven  hundred  duodecimo 
pages,     (c)  Abilitj*  to  write  in  German  a  paragraph  upon  an  assigned 
subject  chosen  from  the  works  studied  in  class,     (d)  Ability  to  follow 
a  recitation  conducted  in  German  and  to  answer  in  that  language 
questions  asked  by  the  instructor. 

12.  In  Elementary  French.  —  (a)  Familiaritj'  with  the  rudiments 
of  grammar,  and  especially  with  these  topics :    the  conjugation  of 
regular  and  the  more  usual  irregular  verbs,  such  as  dire,  faire,  and 
the  classes  represented   by  ouvrir,  dormir,  connaltre,  conduire,  and 


100  OTHER    MODERN    LANGUAGES. 

crainclre ;  the  forms  and  positions  of  personal  pronouns  ;  the  use  of 
other  pronouns  and  pronominal  adjectives  ;  the  inflection  of  nouns 
and  adjectives  for  gender  and  number,  excepting  rare  cases  ;  the 
partitive  constructions.  (b)  Ability  to  translate  simple  prose  at 
sight.  It  is  believed  that  the  requisite  facility  can  be  acquired  by 
reading  not  less  than  four  hundred  duodecimo  pages  from  at  least 
three  dissimilar  works.  (c)  Ability  to  pronounce  French  and  to 
recognize  French  words  and  easy  sentences  when  they  are  uttered. 

13.  In   Advanced  French.  —  (a)   Proficiency  in  more  advanced 
grammar.     In  addition  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  accidence  and  of 
the  values  of  prepositions  and  conjunctions,  the  scholars  must  be 
familiar  with  the  essentials  of  French  syntax  —  especially  the  use  of 
modes  and  tenses  —  and  with  the  more  frequently  recurring  idiomatic 
phrases,     (b)  Ability  to  translate  standard  French.     It  is  thought 
that  pupils  can  acquire  this  ability  b}'  reading,  in  all,  not  less  than 
one  thousand  duodecimo  pages,     (c)    Ability  to  write  in  French  a 
paragraph  upon  an  assigned  subject  chosen  from  the  works  studied  in 
class,      (d)  Ability  to  follow  a  recitation  conducted  in  French  and  to 
answer  in  that  language  questions  asked  by  the  instructor. 

14.  The  ability  to  translate  at  sight  expected  in  each  grade   of 
French  is  greater  than  that  required  in  the  corresponding  grade  of 
German.     The  texts  used  in  the  elementary  courses  should  consist 
of  ordinary  nineteenth  century  prose,  judiciously  varied  with  such 
short  pieces  of  poetiy  as  the  teacher  may  select.     In  the  advanced 
courses  all  the  reading  matter  should  be  of  high  literary  value.     The 
study  of  classical   works    should   be  reserved   until   the   pupil   can 
read  with  ease  every-day  modern  prose.     If,  however,  the  language 
has  been  taken  up  in  the  grammar  school,  the  high  school  standard 
can  be  considerably  raised,  and  some   classical  authors  should   be 
introduced  at  an  early  stage. 

D.    METHOD  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

15.  The  following  recommendations  are  borrowed,  in  the  main, 
from  the  Synopsis  of  French  and   German   Instruction  for  1890  in 
the  high  schools  of  Boston,  Mass.  :  — 

16.  In  modern  language  courses  the  efforts  of  teachers  are  naturally 
directed  mainly  toward  enabling  pupils  to  translate  French  and  Ger- 
man at  sight,  and,  ultimately,  to  read  these  languages  without  the  in- 
terposition of  English.    In  order  to  gain  the  necessary  vocabulary,  a 
great  deal  of  ground  must  be  covered  :  reading  must,  therefore,  be 
rapid.     A  mistaken  idea  of  "  thoroughness"  may  cause  the  waste  of 
much  valuable  time.     Sight  translation  should  begin  at  the  very  out- 


OTHER    MODERN    LANGUAGES.  101 

set  of  the  first  year's  course,  and  should  always  form  an  important 
part  of  the  work  ;  it  should  proceed  as  briskly  as  possible,  the  teacher 
lifting  beginners  over  hard  places,  and  showing  them  how  to  find 
their  own  way  through  the  rest.  All  passages  of  an  abstruse  or 
technical  nature  should  be  skipped,  or  translated  by  the  instructor : 
not  a  moment  should  be  lost  in  contending  with  difficulties  that  have 
no  necessary  connection  with  the  language.  Frequent  reviews  of 
reading-matter  are  not  to  be  recommended :  the  students'  time  can 
nearly  always  be  spent  much  more  profitably  on  new  texts,  which 
have  the  advantage  of  stimulating  fresh  interest  and  of  enlarging  the 
vocabulary.  As  long  as  English  versions  are  made,  teachers  should 
insist  upon  idiomatic  English.  Pupils  often  think  that  their  foreign 
author  is  "  silly  :  "  this  opinion  is  generally  due  to  the  fact  that  they 
see  him  only  through  the  medium  of  their  own  stilted  or  meaningless 
prose.  Every  endeavor  should  fye  made  to  interest  scholars  in  the 
subject-matter,  to  make  them  regard  their  text-books  as  literature, 
not  as  language-mills ;  if  a  story  or  play  moves  in  an  unfamiliar 
sphere,  the  surroundings  (including  the  influence  of  foreign  customs 
and  ideas)  should  be  briefly  but  intelligibly  explained  beforehand  ; 
references  to  things  unknown  to  the  class  should  be  made  clear ;  the 
beginnings  and  ends  of  lessons  should  coincide  with  natural  breaks  in 
the  narrative. 

17.  The  chief  object  of  our  modern  language  courses  is,  as  has 
been  said,  the  ability  to  read  French  and  German ;  but  to  do  this 
reading  intelligently,  the  student  must  know  more  than  the  definitions 
of  the  words  he  sees  ;  he  must  be  able  to  imagine  the  phrases  coming 
from  the  lips  of  a  Frenchman  or  a  German  —  he  must  know  how  they 
sound  to  a  native  hearer,  and  how  they  put  themselves  together  in  the 
mind  of  a  native  speaker.  Something  that  approaches  this  knowledge 
can  be  acquired  by  practice  in  pronunciation,  conversation,  and 
composition.  The  translation  into  the  foreign  language  of  carefully 
graded  sentences,  based  on  the  texts  read,  should  be  carried  on  from 
the  very  beginning ;  and  as  early  as  possible  connected  passages 
should  be  used,  in  order  to  cultivate  good  habits  in  the  choice  of 
connectives  and  the  construction  of  sentences.  Aside  from  set  con- 
versational exercises,  the  foreign  language  should  be  used  as  much  as 
possible  in  the  class-room.  In  the  first  year  the  pupil  can  catch  b}r 
ear  the  names  of  familiar  things  and  many  common  phrases  ;  during 
the  second  he  ought  to  form  sentences  himself ;  and  in  the  third  the 
recitations  should,  if  the  instructor  has  a  practical  command  of  French 
or  German,  be  conducted  mainly  in  that  language.  In  teaching 
foreign  sounds  great  care  must  be  taken  lest  the  scholar  confirm  him- 
self in  bad  habits  :  uncorrected  pronouncing  is  as  bad  as  none.  As 


102  OTHER   MODERN   LANGUAGES. 

often  as  may  be,  the  beginners  should  speak  the  sentences  immedi- 
ate^ after  the  teacher  ;  a  very  little  careful  practice  of  this  kind  will 
do  more  good  than  any  amount  of  original  pronunciation  by  the  pupil. 
The  reading  aloud  of  the  French  or  German  text  should,  in  the  lower 
classes,  follow  rather  than  precede  the  translation  ;  otherwise  it  will 
be  done  blindly. 

18.  A  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  leading  facts  of  grammar 
is,  of  course,  a  necessary  element   in  the    acquisition  of  a  foreign 
tongue.     Grammatical  abstractions  should,  however,  not  be  forced 
upon  the  pupil  too  early.    Difficulties  can  best  be  overcome  by  taking 
them  one  at  a  time.     In  studying  language  the  three  enemies  that  the 
novice  must  encounter  are  pronunciation  and  spelling,  vocabulary, 
and  grammar :  singly  they  can  be  mastered  ;  united  they  are  likely 
to  prove  too  strong.     High  school  teachers  are,  therefore,  advised, 
during  the  first  third  of  the  beginners'  }Tear,  to  devote  the  recitation 
hour  mainly  to  sight  reading,  calling  attention  to  the  most  important 
points  of  grammar  as  they  occur.      For  his  prepared  lessons  the 
scholar  would  meanwhile  be  learning  by  heart  the  inflections  of  the 
language,  and  repeating  the  translations  made  in  the  class.      The 
rules  of  grammar  and  the  exercises  illustrating  them  should  not  be 
formally  studied  until  the  pupil  has,  by  some  three  months'  reading, 
gained  a  little  insight  into  his  French  or  German.    Grammar  exercises 
consisting  of  German  or  French  sentences  to  be  translated  into  Eng- 
lish are  to  be  done  with  the  books  closed,  the  scholar  repeating  the 
original  sentence  after  the  teacher,  and  then  turning  it  into  English. 

19.  In  recommending  the  above  course,   we  do  not  wish  to  be 
understood  as  implying  disapproval  of  the  so-called  "natural  method," 
which  has,  under  favorable  conditions,  been  pursued  with  marked 
success  by  teachers  peculiarly  adapted  to  that  kind  of  instruction. 
We  do  not  believe,   however,   that  such  methods  can  be  generally 
applied . 

E.   COLLEGE  REQUIREMENTS. 

20.  It  is  our  opinion  that  college  requirements  for  admission  should 
coincide  with  the  high  school  requirements   for  graduation,  as  de- 
scribed in  §§   10-13.     If  the  college  examination  is  divided,  we  re- 
commend that  the  preliminary  test  cover  our  elementaiy,  and  the 
final  our  advanced  course. 

21.  An  examination  in  elementary  French  or  German  ought,  in 
our  judgment,  to  consist  of  :   (a)  the  translation  at  sight  of  a  passage 
of  ordinary  difficulty  from  the  foreign  language  into  English ;    and 
(b)  the  turning  into  French  or  German  of  simple  English  sentences 
immediately  illustrative  of  the  first  principles  of  grammar,  the  vocab- 


OTHER    MODERN    LANGUAGES.  103 

ulary  of  these  sentences  to  be  taken,  as  far  as  possible,  from  the 
foreign  text  set  for  translation. 

22.  As  a  test  in  advanced  French  or  German  we  suggest :   (a)  the 
translation  at  sight  of  a  passage  of  high  literary  quality  from  the 
foreign  language  into  English ;  and  (6)  the  turning  into  French  or 
German  of  a  connected  passage  of  simple  English  prose. 

F.    SPANISH. 

23.  The  recommendations  we  have  made  for  French  and  German 
apply  also  to  Spanish  and  to  any  other  modern  language  that  may  be 
introduced  into  high  or  grammar  schools. 

G.   PREPARATION  OP  TEACHERS. 

24.  The1  worst  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  modern  language  study 
is  the  lack  of  properly  equipped  instructors.     There  seems  to  be  at 
present   no   institution  where   persons  intending  to  teach   German, 
French,  or  Spanish  in  our  elementary  or  secondary  schools  can  re- 
ceive the  special  preparation  they  need.     It  is  the  sense  of  the  Con- 
ference that  universities,  states,  or  cities  should  provide  opportunities 
for  such  training. 

CHARLES  H.  GR  AND  GENT,  Director  of  Modern 
Language  Instruction  in  the  Public  Schools, 
Boston,  Mass.,  Chairman. 

WILLIAM  T.  PECK,  Principal  of  Latin  School, 
Providence,  R.  I.,  Secretary. 

JOSEPH  L.  ARMSTRONG,  Professor,  Trinity 
College,  Durham,  N.  C. 

T.  B.  BRONSON,  Lawrenceville  School,  Lawrence- 
mile,  N.  J. 

ALPHONSE  N.  VAN  DAELL,  Professor,  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology,  Boston,  Mass. 

CHARLES  HARRIS,  Professor,  Oberlin  College, 
Oberlin,  Ohio. 

SYLVESTER  PRIMER,  Professor,  University  of 
Texas,  Austin,  Texas. 

JOHN  J.  SCHOBINGER,  Principal  of  Harvard 
School,  2101  Indiana  Avenue,  Chicago,  III. 

I.  H.  B.  SPIERS,  William  Penn  Charter  School, 
8  South  12th  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

WALTER  D.  TOY,  Professor,  University  of  North 
Carolina,  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C. 


MATHEMATICS. 

March,  1893. 
To  PRESIDENT   CHARLES   W.  ELIOT,   CHAIRMAN  COMMITTEE  OF  TEN, 

NATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  EDUCATION  :  — 

Sir,  — The  undersigned,  having  been  appointed  by  your  Committee 
to  hold  a  Conference  on  the  subject  of  secondary  instruction  in  Mathe- 
matics, have  the  honor  to  report  that  such  Conference  was  held  on 
the  28th,  29th,  and  30th  of  December,  1892,  in  Cambridge,  Mass. 

On  mapping  out  its  work,  the  Conference  found  that  the  general, 
subject  of  secondary  mathematics  might  be  convenient!}7  considered 
under  four  different  heads.  It  is  deemed  advisable  to  preface 'the 
separate  reports  on  each  of  these  heads  with  a  general  statement  of 
the  conclusions  reached  b}T  the  Conference.  The  following  five 
reports  are  therefore  submitted : 

I.    General  statement  of  conclusions. 
II.    Special  report  on  the  teaching  of  arithmetic. 

III.  Special  report  on  the  teaching  of  concrete  geometry. 

IV.  Special  report  on  the  teaching  of  algebra. 

V.    Special  report  on  the  teaching  of  formal  geometry. 

Very  respectfully, 

SIMON    NEWCOMB,    Professor,   Johns  Hopkins 

University,  Baltimore,  Md.,  Chairman. 
WILLIAM     E.     BYERLY,     Professor,    Harvard 

University,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  Vice  Chairman. 
ARTHUR   H.  CUTLER,  Principal  of  a  Private 

School  for   Soys,  20   East  50th   Street,  New 

York  City,  Secretary. 
FLORIAN  CAJORI,  Professor,   Colorado  College, 

Colorado  Springs,  Colo. 
HENRY  B.  FINE,  Professor,  College  of  New  Jersey, 

Princeton,  N.  J. 
W.  A.  GREESON,  Principal  of  the  High  School, 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 
ANDREW  INGRAHAM,  Swain  Free  School,  New 

Bedford,  Mass. 
GEORGE  D.  OLDS,  Professor,  Amherst  College, 

Amherst,  MASS. 
JAMES  L.    PATTERSON,  Lawrenceville   School, 

Lawrenceville,  N.  J. 
T.    H.    S AFFORD,    Professor,    Williams    College, 

Williamstown,  Mass. 


MATHEMATICS.  105 

I.  GENERAL  STATEMENT  OP  CONCLUSIONS. 

The  Conference  was,  from  the  beginning  of  its  deliberations,  unani- 
mously of  opinion  that  a  radical  change  in  the  teaching  of  arithmetic 
was  necessary.  Referring  to  the  special  report  on  that  subject  for  a 
statement  of  the  reasons  on  which  its  conclusion  is  based,  the  confer- 
ence recommends  that  the  course  in  arithmetic  be  at  the  same  time 
abridged  and  enriched ;  abridged  by  omitting  entirely  those  subjects 
which  perplex  and  exhaust  the  pupil  without  affording  any  really 
valuable  mental  discipline,  and  enriched  by  a  greater  number  of 
exercises  in  simple  calculation  and  in  the  solution  of  concrete 
problems. 

Among  the  subjects  which  should  be  curtailed,  or  entirely  omitted, 
are  compound  proportion,  cube  root,  abstract  mensuration,  obsolete 
denominate  quantities,  and  the  greater  part  of  commercial  arithmetic. 
Percentage  should  be  rigidly  reduced  to  the  needs  of  actual  life.  In 
such  subjects  as  profit  and  loss,  bank  discount,  and  simple  and  coin- 
pound  interest,  examples  not  easily  made  intelligible  to  the  pupil 
should  be  omitted.  Such  complications  as  result  from  fractional 
periods  of  time  in  compound  interest  ar%  useless  and  undesirable. 
The  metric  system  should  be  taught  in  applications  to  actual  measure- 
ments to  be  executed  by  the  pupil  himself ;  the  measures  and  weights 
being  actually  shown  to,  and  handled  by,  the  pupil.  This  system 
finds  its  proper  application  in  the  course  which  the  Conference  recom- 
mends in  concrete  geometry. 

The  method  of  teaching  should  be  throughout  objective,  and  such 
as  to  call  into  exercise  the  pupil's  mental  activity.  The  text-books 
should  be  subordinate  to  the  living  teacher.  The  illustrations  and 
problems  should,  so  far  as  possible,  be  drawn  from  familiar  objects  ; 
and  the  scholar  himself  should  be  encouraged  to  devise  as  many  as 
he  can.  So  far  as  possible,  rules  should  be  derived  inductively, 
instead  of  being  stated  dogmatically.  On  this  system  the  rules  will 
come  at  the  end,  rather  than  at  the  beginning,  of  a  subject. 

The  Conference  at  the  same  time  insists  upon  the  importance  of 
practice  in  quick  and  ace:: rate   reckoning.      The  scholar  should  be 
thoroughly    trained   in    performing   correctly    and   rapidly   the    four . 
fundamental  operations  with  integers,  vulgar  fractions  and  decimals. 

The  course  in  arithmetic  thus  mapped  out  should  begin  about  the 
age  of  six  years,  and  be  completed  at  the  end  of  the  grammar  school 
course,  say  about  the  thirteenth  year  of  age.  The  conference  does 
not  feel  competent  to  decide  how  many  hours  a  week  should  be 
devoted  to  it,  and  therefore  leaves  this  question  to  teachers  and 
other  school  authorities. 


106  MATHEMATICS. 

The  second  recommendation  of  the  Conference  is  that  a  course  of 
instruction  in  concrete  geometry,  with  numerous  exercises,  be  intro- 
duced into  the  grammar  school.  The  object  of  this  course  would  be 
to  familiarize  the  pupil  with  the  facts  of  plane  and  solid  geometry, 
and  with  those  geometrical  conceptions  to  be  subsequently  employed 
in  abstract  reasoning.  During  the  early  years  the  instruction  might 
be  given  informally,  in  connection  with  drawing,  and  without  a 
separate  appointment  in  the  school  calendar ;  after  the  age  of  ten 
years,  one  hour  per  week  should  be  devoted  to  it. 

While  the  systematic  study  of  algebra  should  not  begin  until  the 
completion  of  the  course  in  arithmetic,  the  Conference  deems  it 
necessary  that  some  familiarit}'  with  algebraic  expressions  and  sym- 
bols, including  the  methods  of  solving  simple  equations,  should  be 
acquired  in  connection  with  the  course  in  arithmetic.  From  the  age 
of  fourteen,  systematic  algebra  should  be  commenced,  and  should  be 
studied  for  five  hours  a  week  during  the  first  year,  and  for  about  two 
hours  and  a  half  a  week  during  the  two  years  next  succeeding. 

The  Conference  is  of  opinion  that  the  subject  of  reckoning  in 
algebra  should  receive  more  attention  than  it  actually  does,  and  that 
the  same  skill  and  accuracy  shonld  be  required  in  dealing  with 
literal  as  with  numerical  coefficients  and  exponents.  It  strongly 
urges  that  when,  as  must  sometimes  be  the  case,  the  scholar  has 
occasion  to  learn  and  use  propositions  before  he  is  prepared  to 
understand  their  rigorous  demonstration,  he  should  be  convinced  of 
their  truth  by  abundant  concrete  illustrations  and  examples,  instead 
of  being  allowed  to  accept  them  as  empirical  conclusions,  or  to  found 
them  on  demonstrations  that  lack  rigor. 

The  Conference  believes  that  the  study  of  demonstrative  geometry 
should  begin  at  the  end  of  the  first  year's  study  of  algebra,  and  be 
carried  on  by  the  side  of  algebra  for  the  next  two  }rears,  occupying 
about  two  hours  and  a  half  a  week.  It  believes  that  it  the  introduc- 
tory course  in  geometry  has  been  well  taught,  both  plane  and  solid 
geometry  can  be  mastered  at  this  time. 

Exercises  in  constructing  demonstrations  of  theorems  in  plane 
geometry  will  naturally  occupy  much  of  the  attention  of  teacher  and 
pupil.  The  Conference  deems  it  very  important  that  great  stress  be 
laid  by  the  teacher  upon  accurac}r  of  statement  and  elegance  of  form 
in  such  demonstrations,  as  well  as  on  clear  and  rigorous  reasoning. 
Special  attention  should  be  given  to  the  oral  statement  of  demon- 
strations. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  colleges  should  supplement  their  written 
admission  examinations  in  geometiy  by  oral  ones  ;  and  a  substantial 
part  of  the  examination,  whether  written  or  oral,  should  be  devoted 


MATHEMATICS.  107 

to  testing  the  ability  of  the  candidate  to  construct  original  demon- 
strations. 

Finally,  the  Conference  is  of  opinion  that  up  to  the  completion  of 
the  first  year's  work  in  algebra,  the  course  should  be  the  same, 
whether  the  pupils  are  preparing  for  college,  for  scientific  schools,  or 
intend  their  systematic  education  to  end  with  the  high  school.  In 
the  case  of  those  who  do  not  intend  to  go  to  college,  but  to  pursue  a 
business  career,  the  remainder  of  the  term  which  has  been  allotted  to 
algebra  might  well  be  devoted  to  book-keeping,  and  the  technical 
parts  of  commercial  arithmetic.  Boys  going  to  a  scientific  school 
might  profitably  spend  a  year  on  trigonometry  and  some  of  the 
higher  parts  of  algebra,  after  completing  the  regular  course  in  algebra 
and  geometry. 

II.  SPECIAL  REPORT  ON  ARITHMETIC. 

Among  the  branches  of  this  subject  which  it  is  proposed  to  omit, 
are  some  which  have  survived  from  an  epoch  when  more  advanced 
mathematics  was  scarcely  known  in  our  schools,  so  that  the  course 
in  arithmetic  was  expected  to  include  all  that  the  pupil  would  ever 
know  of  mathematics.  Examples  of  these  subjects  are  cube  root, 
duo  decimals,  and  compound  proportion.  Their  teaching  serves  no 
useful  purpose  at  the  present  time.  So  far  as  any  useful  principles 
are  embodied  in  them,  they  belong  to  algebra,  and  can  be  taught  by 
algebraic  methods  with  such  facilit}'  that  there  is  no  longer  any 
sound  reason  for  their  retention  in  the  arithmetical  course. 

The  case  is  different  with  commercial  arithmetic.  The  subjects 
taught  under  this  head  have  been  greatly  multiplied  and  enlarged  in 
recent  years,  in  consequence  of  the  popular  demand  for  a  system  of 
education  which  should  be  more  practical  and  better  suited  to  the 
demands  of  modern  commercial  and  business  life,  than  the  old  one 
was  supposed  to  be.  It  may  be  well  that  those  pupils  of  our  busi- 
ness colleges  who  are  mature  enough  to  understand  such  subjects  as 
banking,  insurance,  discount,  partial  pa}Tments,  equation  of  pay- 
ments, and  the  other  branches  commonly  included  under  the  term 
commercial  arithmetic,  and  who  have  no  expectation  of  taking  any 
other  mathematical  course  than  this,  should  study  these  subjects 
exhaustive!}'.  But  the  case  is  different  with  pupils  who  are  going 
through  the  courses  of  our  regular  graded  schools.  For  them  the 
subjects  in  question  have  no  practical  value,  for  the  reason  that  they 
are  too  young  and  inexperienced  to  understand  the  principles  on 
which  business  is  conducted,  and  therefore  waste  valuable  mental 
energy  in  fruitless  struggles  with  problems  which  they  cannot  cornpre- 


108  f  MATHEMATICS. 

hencl.  In  the  text-books  we  find  the  subjects  in  question  prefaced 
I)}'  very  excellent  definitions.  The  pupil  who  masters  them  will  be 
able  to  state  on  examination  that  u  the  market  value  of  stock  is  what 
the  stock  brings  per  share  when  sold  for  cash  "  ;  that  lt  stock  is  at  a 
discount  when  its  market  value  is  less  than  its  par  value"  ;  that  "  its 
par  value  is  that  named  in  the  certificate"  ;  that  "  the  pa}-ee  of  a  bill 
of  exchange  is  the  person  to  whom  the  mone}*  is  ordered  to  be  paid  "  ; 
in  fine,  to  state  in  brief  sentences  the  first  principles  of  commercial 
law.  He  may  also,  after  much  conjecturing,  be  able  to  solve  many 
questions  in  banking,  exchange,  insurance,  and  custom-house  busi- 
ness. But  until  he  is  brought  into  actual  contact  with  the  business 
iljself,  he  can  form  no  clear  conception  of  what  it  all  means,  or  what 
are  the  uses  or  applications  of  the  problems  he  is  solving.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  he  is  once  brought  face  to  face  with  business  as  an 
actuality  ;  when  for. the  first  time  he  becomes  a  depositor  in  a  savings 
bank,  or  a  purchaser  of  shares  in  a, corporation,  he  will  find  all  the 
arithmetic  necessary  for  his  purposes  to  be  interest,  discount,  and 
percentage.  The  conceptions  which  he  vainly  endeavored  to  master 
by  recitations  from  a  text-book  take  their  places  in  his  mind  with 
hardly  the  necessity  of  an  effort  on  his  part. 

The  opinion  is  widely,prevalent  that  even  if  the  subjects  are  totally 
forgotten,  a  valuable  mental  discipline  is  acquired  by  the  efforts 
made  to  master  them.  While  the  Conference  admits  that,  considered 
in  itself,  this  discipline  has  a  certain  value,  it  feels  that'  such  a 
discipline  is  greatly  inferior  to  that  which  may  be  gained  by  a  dif- 
ferent class  of  exercises,  and  bears  the  same  relation  to  a  really 
improving  discipline  that  lifting  exercises  in  an  ill-ventilated  room 
bear  to  games  in  the  open  air.  The  movements  of  a  race  horse 
afford  a  better  model  of  improving  exercise  than  those  of  the  ox  in  a 
tread-mill.  The  pupil  who  solves  a  difficult  problem  in  brokerage 
may  have  the  pleasant  consciousness  of  having  overcome  a  difficulty, 
but  he  cannot  feel  that  he  is  mentally  improved  by  the  efforts  he  has 
made.  To  attain  this  end  he  must  feel  at  every  step  that  he  has  a 
new  command  of  principles  to  be  applied  to  future  problems.  This 
end  can  be  best  gained  by  comparatively  easy  problems,  involving 
interesting  combinations  of  ideas. 

Most  of  the  improvements  which  the  Conference  has  to  suggest  in 
teaching  can  be  summed  up  under  the  two  heads  of  giving  the  teach- 
ing a  more  concrete  form,  and  paying  more  attention  to  facility  and 
correctness  in  work.  The  relations  of  magnitudes  should,  so  far  as 
possible,  be  represented  to  the  eye.  The  fundamental  operations  of 
arithmetic  should  not  onl}'  be  performed  symbolically  by  numbers, 
but  practically,  by  joining  lines  together,  dividing  them  into  parts. 


MATHEMATICS.  4  109 

and  combining  the  parts  in  such  a  way  as  to  illustrate  the  fundamen- 
tal rules  for  multiplication  and  division  of  fractions.  A  pupil  can 
learn  to  divide  a  line  into  parts  more  easily  than  he  can  master  defini- 
tions ;  and  when  this  is  done  he  has  a  conception  of  fractions  which 
he  cannot  gain  in  an}'  other  way.  The  visible  figures  by  which  prin- 
cipled are  illustrated  should,  so  far  as  possible,  have  no  accessories. 
They  should  be  magnitudes  pure  and  simple,  so  that  the  thought  of 
the  pupil  ma}'  not  be  distracted  and  that  he  ma}'  know  what  feature 
of  the  thing  represented  he  is  to  pay  attention  to.  The  elementary 
theorems  of  arithmetic  should  be  enforced  and  illustrated  in  the  same 
way,  without  an  attempt  at  formal  demonstration,  the  generalization 
being  reached  inductively.  Thus,  when  the  pupil  comprehends 
clearly,  by  means  of  dots  arranged  in  a  rectangle,  that  three  fives 
contain  the  same  number  of  units  as  five  threes,  that  is,  when  he  sees 
that  the  commutative  law  is  true,  then  it  may  be  expressed  to  him  in 
the  general  form,  aX  b  =  b  X>a* 

The  concrete  system  should  not  be  confined  to  principles,  but  be 
extended  to  practical  applications  in  mensuration  and  physics.  Meas- 
urements of  the  room,  the  house,  and  the  yard  ;  the  calculation  of  the 
weights  of  visible  objects,  or  of  the  number  of  articles  that  a  given 
receptacle  will  hold ;  the  computation  of  distances  and  areas  in  the 
town,  by  measures  on  a  map  of  known  scale,  of  the  number  of  cubic 
feet  in  a  room,  and  of  the  weight  of  the  air  which  fills  the  room,  are 
examples  of  problems  which  can  be  extended  by  the  teacher  indefi- 
nitely. The  simple  operations  of  arithmetic  can  be  better  exemplified 
by  problems  set  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  and  springing  naturally 
from  the  environment  of  teacher  and  pupil,  than  by  those  given  in  a 
printed  book  ;  and  have  the  inestimable  advantage  of  exciting  the 
interest  of  the  pupil. 

When  such  a  system  of  teaching  is  once  introduced,  tho  teacher 
will  probably  be  surprised  to  find  to  what  seemingly  abstruse  prob- 
lems the  simplest  principles  of  arithmetic  can.  be  applied.  The 
problem  of  computing  the  quantity  of  coal  which  would  have  to  be 
burned  in  order  to  heat  the  air  of  a  room  from  the  freezing  point  to 
70°  would  probably  be  beyond  the  powers  of  all  our  college  grad- 
uates, except  those  who  have  made  physics  one  of  their  specialties. 
Yet  there  is  nothing  in  its  elements  above  the  powers  of  a  boy  of 
twelve.  At  this  age  the  child  could,  by  a  few  very  simple  experi- 
ments, gain  the  idea  of  a  quantity  of  heat  much  more  easily  than  the 
idea  of  stock  in  a  corporation.  Having  gained  this,  the  elements 
which  enter  into  the  problem  in  question  could  be  measured  one 
by  one. 


110  MATHEMATICS. 


III.    SPECIAL  REPORT  ON  CONCRETE  GEOMETRY. 

The  Conference  recommends  that  the  child's  geometrical  education 
should  begin  as  early  as  possible  ;  in  the  kindergarten,  if  he  attends 
a  kindergarten,  or  if  not,  in  the  primary  school.  He  should  at  first 
gain  familiarity  through  the  senses  with  simple  geometrical  figures 
and  forms,  plane  and  solid ;  should  handle,  draw,  measure,  and 
model  them ;  and  should  gradually  learn  some  of  their  simpler 
properties  and  relations.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  Conference  that 
in  the  early  years  of  the  primary  school  this  work  could  be  done  in 
connection  with  the  regular  courses  in  drawing  and  modelling  with- 
out requiring  any  important  modification  of  the  school  curriculum. 

At  about  the  age  of  ten  for  the  average  child,  systematic  instruc- 
tion in  concrete  or  experimental  geometry  should  begin,  and  should 
occupy  about  one  school  hour  per  week  for  at  least  three  years. 
During  this  period  the  main  facts  of  plane  and  solid  geometry  should 
be  taught,  not  as  an  exercise  in  logical  deduction  and  exact  demon- 
stration, but  in  as  concrete  and  objective  a  form  as  possible.  For 
example,  the  simple  properties  of  similar  plane  figures  and  similar 
solids  should  not  be  proved,  but  should  be  illustrated  and  confirmed 
by  cutting  up  and  re-arranging  drawings  or  models. 

This  course  should  include  among  other  things  the  careful  con- 
struction of  plane  figures,  both  by  the  unaided  eye  and  by  the  aid  of 
ruler,  compasses  and  protractor  ;  the  indirect  measurement  of  heights 
and  distances  by  the  aid  of  figures  carefully  drawn  to  scale  ;  and 
elementary  mensuration,  plane  and  solid. 

The  child  should  learn  to  estimate  by  the  eye  and  to  measure  with 
some  degree  of  accuracy  the  lengths  of  lines,  the  magnitudes  of 
angles,  and  the  areas  of  simple  plane  figures  ;  to  make  accurate  plans 
and  maps  from  his  own  actual  measurements  and  estimates ;  and 
to  make  models  of  simple  geometrical  solids  in  pasteboard  and 
in  cla}'. 

Of  course,  while  no  attempt  should  be  made  to  build  up  a  complete- 
logical  system  of  geometry,  the  child  should  be  thoroughly  convinced 
of  the  correctness  of  his  constructions  and  the  truth  of  his  proposi- 
tions by  abundant  concrete  illustrations  and  by  frequent  experi- 
mental tests  ;  and  from  the  beginning  of  the  systematic  work  he 
should  be  encouraged  to  draw  easy  inferences,  and  to  follow  short 
chains  of  reasoning. 

From  the  outset  the  pupil  should  be  required  to  express  himself 
verbally  as  well  as  by  drawing  and  modelling,  and  the  language 
employed  should  be,  as  far  as  possible,  the  language  of  the  science, 
and  not  a  temporary  phraseology  to  be  unlearned  later. 


MATHEMATICS .  Hi 

It  is  the  belief  of  the  Conference  that  the  course  here  suggested, 
if  skilfully  taught,  will  not  only  be  of  great  educational  value  to  all 
children,  but  will  also  be  a  most  desirable  preparation  for  later 
mathematical  work. 

Then,  too,  while  it  will  on  one  side  supplement  and  aid  the  work  in 
arithmetic,  it  will  on  the  other  side  fit  in  with  and  help  the  elemen- 
tary instruction  in  physics,  if  such  instruction  is  to  be  given. 

IV.    SPECIAL  REPORT  ON  ALGEBRA. 

It  is  desirable,  during  the  study  of  arithmetic,  to  familiarize  the 
pupil  with  the  use  of  literal  expressions  and  of  algebraic  language  in 
general.  The  teacher  may  advantageously  introduce  the  simple 
equation  in  the  study  of  proportion,  of  the  more  difficult  problems 
in  analysis,  and  of  percentage  and  its  applications.  The  desig- 
nation of  positive  integral  powers  by  exponents  may  also  be 
taught. 

Avoiding  the  introduction  of  negative  numbers,,  the  pupil  should 
be  drilled  in  easy  problems  like  the  -following : 

If  one  stone  weighs  p  pounds  and  another  weighs  q  pounds,  what 
is  the  weight  of  both  together? 

If  a  square  table  is  a  feet  long,  what  is  its  area? 

If  a  yards  of  cloth  cost  b  dollars,  what  will  c  yards  cost? 

Such  exercises  should  grow  out  of  similar  ones  involving  numeri- 
cal data. 

The  average  pupil  should  be  prepared  to  undertake  the  study  of 
formal  algebra  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  year.  For  stu- 
dents preparing  to  enter  college,  the  time  assigned  to  this  study  in 
the  high  school  should  be  about  the  equivalent  of  five  hours  per  week 
during  the  first  year,  and  an  average  of  two  hours  and  a  half  per 
week  during  the  two  following  years.  This  affords  ample  time  for 
the  thorough  mastery  of  algebra  through  quadratic  equations  and 
equations  of  quadratic  form.  The  course  should  include  radicals, 
but  exclude  the  progressions,  series,  and  logarithms,  although  a 
familiarity  with  logarithmic  tables  is  desirable  for  those  who  expect 
to  take  a  technical  course  in  any  department. 

There  are  certain  propositions  in  algebra  the  rigorous  demonstra- 
tion of  which  is  unintelligible  to  pupils  at  the  time  when  these 
propositions  are  first  encountered.  Such  is  usually  the  case  with  the 
rule  of  signs  in  multiplication  and  with  the  binomial  formula.  In 
cases  of  this  kind  the  proof  should  be  at  first  omitted,  but  always 
introduced  at  a  later  period  in  school  or  college.  When  such  omis- 
sions are  made,  the  pupil  must  be  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the 


112  MATHEMATICS. 

propositions  by  illustration  or  induction.  In  many  of  our  text-books 
the  proofs  of  the  theorems  above  referred  to  are  not  rigorous.  The 
truth  of  the  binomial  formula  for  fractional  or  negative  exponents 
had  best  be  reserved  for  the  more  advanced  courses  in  college  or  the 
scientific  school.  In  case  of  positive  integral  exponents  the  pupil 
should  arrive  at  the  mode  -of  expansion  through  the  examination  of 
products  obtained  by  actual  multiplication. 

Oral  exercises  in  algebra,  similar  to  those  in  what  is  called 
"  mental  arithmetic,"  are  recommended.  Such  exercises  are  particu- 
larly helpful  in  conducting  brief  and  rapid  reviews.  Quickness  and 
accuracy  in  both  oral  and  written  work  should  be  rigidly  enforced. 
The  same  facility  should  be  attained  in  dealing  with  expressions 
containing  coefficients  and  exponents  that  are  literal  as  with  expres- 
sions in  which  they  are  numerical.  Radicals  and  fractional  and 
negative  exponents  need  more  attention  than  they  commonly  receive. 
Especial  emphasis  should  be  laid  upon  the  fundamental  nature  of  the 
equation.  The  distinction  should  be  clearly  and  repeatedly  drawn 
between  the  ordinary  algebraic  equation  and  the  identities  with 
which  the  pupil  has  grown  familiar  in  his  study  of  arithmetic.  He 
should  also  be  given  drill  in  the  solution  of  an  ordinary  equation 
with  reference  to  any  letter  that  it  may  contain. 

V.    SPECIAL  REPORT  ON  DEMONSTRATIVE  GEOMETRY. 

In  regard  to  the  teaching  of  formal  geometry  the  Conference 
invites  attention  to  the  following  considerations : 

1.  A  course  of  study  in  demonstrative  geometry  properly  begins 
with    a  careful    and  exhaustive    enumeration  of  those   properties  of 
s^ace  which  do  not  admit  of  being  deduced  from  still  simpler  proper- 
ties ;  that  space  is  continuous  and  of  three  dimensions  ;  that  figures 
may  be  moved  about  in   it   without  change  of  size  or  shape  ;    that 
straight   lines    and  planes  ma}*    exist  in    space,    determined  by  two 
and  three  points  respectively  ;  that  of  two  intersecting  straight  lines 
but  one   can   be   parallel   to  a  giver   straight   line  —  the   so-called 
geometric  axioms. 

It  is  of  the  first  importance  that  the  role  which  these  axioms  —  or 
better,  postulates — play  in  the  demonstrative  geometry  be  correctly 
understood :  together  they  constitute  a  definition  of  space,  from 
which  —  with  certain  formal  definitions  of  figures  —  it  is  the  business 
of  demonstrative  geometry  to  deduce  all  other  facts  regarding  space 
with  which  it  may  concern  itself. 

2.  The  function  of  the  construction  postulates  also,  by  which  the 
elementary  geometry  is  restricted  in  its  constructions  to  the  use  of 


MATHEMATICS.  113 

the  compasses  and  ungraduated  straight-edge,  merits  careful  exposi- 
tion, inasmuch  as  these  postulates  define  the  province  of  the  elemen- 
tary as  distinguished  from  higher  geometry.  That  it  is  not  alwa3Ts 
understood  is  obvious  from  conceptions  which  are  current  as  to  what 
is  and  what  is  not  allowable  in  the  elementary  geometry. 

3.  There  are  two  methods  employed  in  geometry  for  dealing  with 
size-relations  among  the  geometric  magnitudes,  the  methods  of 
immediate  comparison  of  the  magnitudes,  and  of  comparison  by 
means  of  their  numerical  measure.  Thus  the  theorem,  "the  square 
on  the  sum  of  two  lines  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  squares  on  those 
lines  plus  twice  their  rectangle,"  is  demonstrated  after  the  first 
method  by  showing  that  the  square  on  the  sum  may  be  actually 
divided  into  these  four  parts  ;  after  the  second,  by  deducing  it  from 
the  algebraic  theorem  that  the  square  of  the  sum  of  two  quantities  is 
equal  to  the  sum  of  the  squares  of  those  quantities  plus  twice  their 
product. 

The  first  method  is  purely  geometrical.  None  of  its  notions  are 
arithmetical.  Magnitudes  are  defined  as  equal  when  they  can  be 
made  to  coincide,  they  are  added  and  substracted  geometrically  —  by 
juxtaposition  and  separation  —  and  their  ratios  are  not  expressed 
numerically  but,  like  the  magnitudes  themselves,  compared  directly. 
The  second  method,  on  the  other  hand,  is  essentially  arithmetical. 
Replacing  the  magnitudes  by  .their  measures,  it  at  the  same  time 
replaces  geometric  equality,  addition  and  substraction  by  the  equality, 
addition  and  substraction  of  irrational  numbers. 

Opinions  differ  as  to  what  the  relative  prominence  of  these  two 
methods  should  be  in  elementary  geometry.  But,  the  first  method 
being  pure  and  thoroughly  elementary  and  involving  no  abstraction, 
is  surely  better  suited  to  the  beginner.  Indeed  the  student  is  most 
likely  to  become  a  sound  geometer  who  is  not  introduced  to  the 
notion  of  numerical  measures  until  he  has  learned  that  geometry  can 
be  developed  independently  of  it .  altogether.  For  this  notion  is 
subtle,  and  highly  artificial  from  a  purely  geometrical  point  of  view  and 
its  rigorous  treatment  is  difficult.  The  student  generally  only  half 
comprehends  it,  so  that  for  him  demonstrations  lose  more  in  rigor  as 
well  as  in  vividness  and  objectivity  by  its  use  than  they  gain  in 
apparent  simplicity.  Moreover  the  constant  association  of  number 
with  the  geometric  magnitudes  as  one  of  their  properties  tends  to 
obscure  the  fundamental  characteristic  of  these  magnitudes  —  their 
continuity. 

The  numerical  method  is  of  course  to  be  taught  —  with  due  atten- 
tion to  its  rigorous  presentation  —  for  its  own  sake  and  for  .the  sake 
of  the  mensuration  to  which  it  leads;  but  serious  harm  is  done  by 
8 


114  MATHEMATICS. 

allowing  it  to  entirely  supplant  the  pure  method  at  as  early  a  period 
as  is  customary. 

4.  Many  students  who  can  reason  logically  cannot  present  a  geo- 
metrical  demonstration   orally  with  due  elegance   of  form.      Their 
statement  oTftri^argument  is  incomplete  or  illogical,  or  they  express 
themselves  in  an  awkward  and  inexact  manner.      This  is  a  fault 
which  may  render  the  recitation  of  the  proofs  of  geometry  practically 
valueless,  inasmuch  as  it  prevents  the  discipline  for  which  this  exer- 
cise is  chiefly  prized,   and   cultivates  instead   the  vicious  habit  of 
slovenly  expression.     It  is  due  in  part  to  the  willingness  of  certain 
teachers  to  accept  in  lieu  of  the  demonstration  of  a  proposition  any 
kind  of  evidence  that  the  pupil  understands  it,  in  part  to  the  wide- 
spread practice  of  substituting  written  for  oral  demonstration.     The 
remedy  is  obvious  :  abundance  of  oral  recitation  —  for  which  there  is 
no  proper  substitute  —  and  the  rejection  of  all  proofs  which  are  not 
formally  perfect. 

5.  The  elementary  ideas  of  logic  may  be  introduced  early  in  the 
course  in  demonstrative  geometry  with  great  advantage.     One  need 
only  explain  that  if  a  class  of  things  be  represented  by  a  symbol,  say 
A,  all  things  not  belonging  to  this  class  may  also  be  thought  of  as 
constituting  a  class,  represented  by  the  symbol  not  A;  and  that  the 
proposition  A  is  B  is  not  a  declaration  of  the  equivalence  of  A  and 
jB,  but  that  every  individual  of  the  class  A  belongs  to  the  class  B  — 
to  make  it  easily  understood  why  the  converse  proposition  B  is  A  is 
not  a  necessary  consequence  of  A  is  B  and  under  what  conditions  it 
becomes  such  a  consequence  ;  and  why,  on  the  other  hand,  the  "  con- 
trapositive  "  not  B  is  not  A  is  the  logical  equivalent  of  A  is  B  and 
the  "  obverse  "  not  A  is  not  B  of  B  is  A. 

Yet  this  little  knowledge  would  add  materially  to  the  student's 
equipment  for  geometry.  The  contrapositive  of  a  proposition  is 
oftentimes  more  readily  demonstrated  than  the  proposition  itself,  its 
obverse  than  its  converse  ;  and  when  it  has  been  proven  that  A  is  B 
it  is  often  easier  to  show  that  there  is  but  one  B  (when  such  is  the 
case)  than  to  show  directly  that  B  is  A. 

This  knowledge,  furthermore,  is  seriously  needed  to  dispel  existing 
confusion.  For  many  students  have  a  strong,  though  of  course  un- 
formulated  conviction  —  with  apparently  a  good  deal  to  justify  it  — 
that  the  logic  of  algebra  is  quite  distinct  from  the  logic  of  geometry, 
and  both  from  the  logic  of  ordinary  correct  thinking.  Without  a 
knowledge  of  the  conditions  under  which  the  truth  of  the  converse  of 
a  demonstrated  proposition  may  be  immediately  inferred,  for  in- 
stance, it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  student  is  to  reconcile  the  need  of 
demonstrating  converses  in  geometry  with  the  practice  which  is  com- 


MATHEMATICS .  115 

mon  in  algebra  of  establishing  a  proposition  by  proving  its  converse 

—  as  in  proving  the  truth  of  an  algebraic  relation  by  showing  that  it 
leads  to  an  identity. 

Finally  the  very  fact  that  demonstrative  geometry  is  the  most  elab- 
orate illustration  of  the  mechanism  of  formal  logic  in  the  entire 
curriculum  of  the  student,  makes  the  consideration  of  these  elemen- 
tary principles  of  logic  more  interesting  and  profitable  in  this  connec- 
tion than  in  any  other, 

6.  As  soon  as  the  student  has  acquired  the  art  of  rigorous  demon- 
stration, his  work  should  cease  to  be  merely  receptive.  He  should 
begin  to  devise  constructions  and  demonstrations  for  himself. 

Geometr}"  cannot  be  mastered  by  reading  the  demonstrations  of  a 
text  book ;  and  while  there  is  no  branch  of  the  elementary  mathe- 
matics in  which  purely  receptive  work,  if  continued  too  long,  may 
lose  its  interest  more  completely,  there  is  also  none  in  which  inde- 
pendent work  can  be  made  more  attractive  and  stimulating.  It 
possesses  remarkable  qualifications  for  quickening  and  developing 
creative  talent.  Its  materials  are  a  few  simple,  concrete,  and  easily 
apprehended  notions  which  admit  of  numberless  interesting  and 
valuable  combinations,  some  very  simple,  some  very  complex.  The 
lack  of  general  methods  is  the  weakness  of  elementary  geometry  as  a 
science.  Each  theorem  must  be  demonstrated  for  itself  by  a  process 
differing  in  some  respect  from  that  followed  in  the  case  of  every 
other.  But  the  invention  of  these  processes  —  unimportant  as  they 
may  be  individually  —  is  an  intellectual  exercise  as  much  higher  than 
the  mechanical  illustration  of  some  powerful  and  general  method  — 
which  is  all  that  the  ordinary  exercises  of  elementary  algebra  involve 

—  as  it  is  lower  than  the  discovery  of  a  new  truth  by  aid  of  such  a 
method. 

At  the  same  time  this  characteristic  of  the  elementary  geometry 
makes  the  acquisition  of  any  considerable  degree  of  skill  in  indepen- 
dent geometrical  work  difficult.  It  requires  abundant  practice  in 
exercises  which  have  been  carefully  graduated  and  adapted  to  the 
abilities  of  the  individual  student.  In  particular  it  is  important  that 
the  student  should  comprehend  that,  notwithstanding  the  rigorously 
synthetic  form  of  its  demonstrations,  the  method  of  investigation  in 
elementary  geometry,  as  in  all  science,  is  essentially  analytic  —  that 
the  clue  to  a  demonstration  or  construction  is  most  likely  to  be  found 
by  assuming  it  accomplished  and  tracing  its  consequences  until 
results  previously  established  have  been  deduced  from  it. 

By  wise  instruction  after  this  method,  the  inferior  student  can  at 
least  be  freed  from  slavish  dependence  on  his  text  book,  while  the 
able  student  will  gain  power  enough  in  large  part  to  construct  his 


116  MATHEMATICS. 

own  geometr}r.  But  whatever  the  training  may  accomplish  for  him 
geometrically,  there  is  no  student  whom  it  will  not  brighten  and 
strengthen  intellectually  as  few  other  exercises  can. 

7.  It  is  desirable,  if  feasible,  that  solid  as  well  as  plane  geometry 
be  studied  in  preparation  for  college. 

A  place  should  also  be  found  either  in  the  school  or  college  course 
for  at  least  the  elements  of  the  modern  synthetic  or  protective  geom- 
etry. It  is  astonishing  that  this  subject  should  be  so  generally 
ignored,  for  mathematics  offers  nothing  more  attractive.  It  possesses 
the  coricreteness  of  the  ancient  geometry  without  the  tedious  particu- 
larity, and  the  power  of  analytical  geometry  without  the  reckoning, 
and  by  the  beauty  of  its  ideas  and  methods  illustrates  the  esthetic 
quality  which  is  the  charm  of  the  higher  mathematics,  but  which  the 
elementary  mathematics  in  general  lacks. 


PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY. 

To  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TEN  : 

The  Conference  on  Physics,  Chemistry,  and  Astronomy,  met  on 
December  28,  1892,  in  Chicago.  Its  first  session  was  held  at  10  A.M. 
in  a  room  of  the  University  of  Chicago  provided  for  the  purpose. 
Shortly  after  the  appointed  hour  all  the  ten  members  were  present, 
—  Mr.  George  W.  Krall,  of  St.  Louis,  presenting  himself  as  the 
accredited  substitute  for  Mr.  W.  C.  Peckham,  of  Brooklyn. 

The  Conference  organized  at  once  by  the  election  of  Professor 
Ira  Remsen  as  Chairman,  and  Mr.  I.  W.  Fay  as  Secretary. 

Morning  and  afternoon  sessions  were  held  for  three  days.  At  the 
end  of  the  second  day  two  members,  Professor  Payne,  of  Minnesota, 
and  Mr.  Gage,  of  Boston,  were  obliged  to  leave,  and  those  remaining 
continued  the  work  to  the  end. 

The  results  of  the  deliberations  of  this  Conference  will  be  found 
embodied  in  the  following  resolutions,  which  have  been  arranged  as 
far  as  possible  in  the  order  corresponding  to  the  list  of  questions 
suggested  by  your  committee. 

This  Conference  recommends  :  — 

1.  That  the  study  of  simple  natural  phenomena  be  introduced  into 
the  elementary  schools  and  that  this  study,  so  far  as  practicable,  be 
pursued  by  means  of  experiments  carried  on  by  the  pupil ;  also  that 
in  connection  therewith,  in  the  upper  grades  of  these  schools,  practice 
be   given   in  the   use   of   simple   instruments   for   making   physical 
measurements. 

2.  That,   wherever  this  is   possible,  special   science-teachers  or 
superintendents  be  appointed  to  instruct  the  teachers  of  elementary 
schools  in  methods  of  teaching  natural  phenomena. 

[While  no  resolution  was  passed  in  regard  to  the  amount  of  time 
to  be  devoted  to  the  study  of  natural  phenomena  in  the  elementary 
schools,  it  was  the  sense  of  the  Conference  that  at  least  one  period 
per  day  be  given  to  such  study.] 

3.  That  the  study  of  Chemistry  should  precede  that  of  Physics  in 
high-school  work. 

4.  That  the  study  of  Physics  be  pursued  the  last  year  of  the  high 
school  course. 

5.  That  the  study  of  Chemistry  be  introduced  into  the  secondary 
schools  in  the  year  preceding  that  in  which  Physics  is  taken  up. 

6.  That  at  least  200  hours  be  devoted  to  the  study  of  Physics  in 
the  high  school. 


118  PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY. 

7.  That  at  least  200  hours  be  given  to  the  study  of  Chemistry  in 
the  high  school. 

8.  That  both  Physics  and  Chemistry  be  required  for  admission  to 
college. 

9.  That  Astronomy  be  not  required  for  admission  to  college. 

10.  That  when  the  high  school  course  is  four  years,  an  elective  in 
Astronomy  be  offered.     Time  —  five  recitations  per  week  during  a 
period  of  twelve  weeks. 

11.  That  there  should  be  no  difference  in  the  treatment  of  Physics, 
Chemistry,  and  Astronomy,  for  those  going  to  college  or  scientific 
school,  and  those  going  to  neither. 

12.  That  the  study  of  Astronomy  should  be  by  observation  as  well 
as  by  class-room  instruction. 

13.  That  in  secondary  schools  Physics  and  Chemistry  be  taught  by 
a  combination  of  laboratory  work,  text-book,  and  thorough  didactic 
instruction  carried  on  conjointly,  and  that  at  least  one-half  of  the 
time  devoted  to  these  subjects  be  given  to  laboratory  work. 

14.  That  laboratory  work  in  Physics  should  be  largely  of  a  quan- 
titative character. 

15.  That  careful  note-book  records  of  the  laboratory  work  in  both 
Physics  and  Chemistry  should  be  kept  by  the  student  at  the  time  of 
the  experiment. 

16.  That  the  laboratory  work  should  have  the  personal  supervision 
of  the  teacher  at  the  laboratory  desk. 

17.  That  the  laboratory  record  should  form  part  of  the  test  for 
admission  to  college,  and  that  the  examination  for  admission  should 
be  both  experimental  and  either  oral  or  written. 

18.  That  in  the  subjects  dealt  with  by  this  Conference  there  be  no 
separation  of  the  examinations  into  preliminary  and  final. 

19.  It  was  further  resolved  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Conference 
that  the  admission  to  college  by  means  of  certificates  from  approved 
schools  is  the  ideal  method. 

20.  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Conference  it  is  better  to  study  one 
subject  as  well  as  possible  during  the  whole  year  than  to  study  two  or 
more  superficially  during  the  same  time. 

21.  That  in  the  instruction  in  Physics  and  Chemistry  it  should  not 
be  the  aim  of  the  student  to  make  a  so-called  rediscovery  of  the  laws 
of  these  sciences. 

22.  That  a  committee  to  consist  of  Mr.  Fay  and  Mr.  Krall  have 
charge  of  making  out  a  list  of  50  experiments  in  Physics,  and  100 
experiments   in  Chemistry,  to   be   subject   to   the  approval  of   the 
Conference. 


PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY.  119 

The  above  resolutions  were  carried  unanimously,  with  one  excep- 
tion, and  in  this  case  with  but  one  dissenting  vote. 

Each  one  of  the  resolutions  was  fully  discussed  and  the  discussions 
showed  clearly  that  the  members  of  the  Conference  were,  in  the  main, 
in  hearty  accord.  Every  member  evidently  felt  strongly  that  the 
ordinary  method  of  secondary  education  that  ignores  the  study  of 
nature  is  highly  objectionable.  The  study  of  books  is  well  enough 
I  L/px\<\  undoubtedly  important,  but  the  study  of  things  and  of  phenom- 
ena  by  direct  contact  must  not  be  neglected.  If  it  is  conceded  that 
the  study  of  scientific  methods  is  important,  then  it  appears  evident 
that  in  the  early  stages  of  education  the  mind  should  be  prepared  for  \ 
this  kind  of  study,  and  not  rendered  unfit  for  it.  Therefore  the 
Conference  passed  the  first  resolution. 

But  it  would  be  impossible  at  present  to  provide  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  properly  qualified  teachers  for  elementary  work  in  science,  and 
for  a  time,  at  least,  it  would  be  necessary  to  instruct  the  teachers. 
To  this  end,  Resolution  2  provides  for  the  appointment  of  special 
science  superintendents,  who  should  have  supervision  over  the  ele- 
mentaiy  work  in  science,  somewhat  as  the  superintendents  of 
drawing  have  over  their  branch  of  work. 

As  regards  Resolutions  3,  4,  and  5,  it  should  be  said  that  the  order 
recommended  for  the  study  of  Chemistry  and  Ptrysics  is  plainly  not 
the  logical  one,  but  all  the  members  with  one  exception  voted  for 
Resolution  3  because  they  felt  that  the  pupils  should  have  as  much 
mathematical  knowledge  as  possible  to  enable  them  to  deal  satisfac- 
torily with  Physics,  while  they  could  profitably  take  up  elementary 
Chemistry  at  an  earlier  stage. 

Resolution  13  is  an  important  one.  It  requires  no  argument  to 
show  that  the  study  of  a  text-book  of  Chemistry  or  of  Physics 
without;  laboratory  work  cannot  give  a  satisfactory  knowledge  of 
these  subjects,  and  cannot  furnish  scientific  training.  Such  study  is 
of  little,  if  any,  value.  On  the  other  hand,  the  mere  performing  of 
experiments  in  a  laboratory,  however  well  equipped  the  laboratory 
may  be,  cannot  accomplish  what  is  desired.  Further,  a  pupil  may 
work  conscientiously  in  the  laboratory,  and  study  his  text-book 
thoroughly,  and  yet  receive  a  very  inadequate  training.  He  needs  an 
intelligent  teacher  to  aid  him  in  interpreting  the  statements  of  the 
book  and  the  phenomena  observed,  as  well  as  to  show  him  how 
to  work.  Loose  work  in  the  laboratory  is  as  harmful  as  loose 
work  in  the  class-room,  and  much  of  the  laboratory  work  done  in  \ 
schools,  as  well  as  in  colleges,  is  loose  work.  The  great  majority  of; 
pupils  are  sure  to  do  bad  work  unless  carefully  guided.  In  mathe- 
matics and  the  languages  accuracy  can  be  secured,  and  is  secured, 


120  PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY. 

by  thorough  questioning,  Similar  thorough  questioning  by  a  good 
teacher  at  the  laboratory  desk  can  make  an  exercise  of  great  value, 
that  without  it  might  be  positively  harmful.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
lack  of  this  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  is  one  of  the 
reasons  wh}^  courses  in  science  often  fail  to  give  satisfactory  results. 
Resolution  16  emphasizes  the  importance  of  this  supervision. 

"While  the  good  teacher  will  prevent  the  laboratory  work  from 
becoming  mechanical,  another  instrument  is  of  great  value  for  this 
same  purpose.  This  is  the  keeping  of  records.  Resolution  15 
directs  attention  to  this.  Without  constant  watching,  this  part  of  the 
work  will  degenerate  and  become  harmful  instead  of  helpful ,  There 
are  at  least  three  sources  of  danger  in  it: 

1.  The  pupil,  no  matter  what  he  may  actually  see,  will  tend  not  to 
record  his  own  observations,  but  to  transcribe  statements  found  in 
his  text-book. 

2.  If  the  facts  observed  point  to  a  conclusion,  the  relation  between 
the  facts  and  the  conclusion  ma}T  not  be  stated  logically. 

3.  The   record   and   the   reasoning   may   be   expressed   in  faulty 
English. 

It  is  the  teacher's  business  to  guard  against  these  dangers,  and  the 
records,  if  properly  treated  by  a  conscientious  teacher,  furnish  the 
means  for  most  instructive  talks  between  teacher  and  pupil. 

To  this  it  will  no  doubt  be  objected  by  some  that  the  kind  of 
instruction  indicated  requires  much  more  time  than  can  generally  be 
given  to  the  work.  It  is  certainly  true  that  to  give  good  instruction 
in  the  sciences  requires  more  work  of  the  teacher  than  to  give  good 
instruction  in  mathematics,  the  languages,  etc.  The  sooner  this  fact 
is  recognized  by  those  who  have  the  management  of  schools,  the 
better. 

Resolution  17  was  the  result  of  a  discussion  upon  a  subject 
with  which  some  members  of  the  Conference  had  little  familiarity. 
The  unanimous  opinion  was,  however,  that  by  means  of  a  laboratory 
examination  alone  it  must  be  extremely  difficult  to  form  an  opinion 
as  to  the  attainments  of  a  pupil ;  that  the  same  is  equally  true  of 
either  an  oral  or  a  written  examination  ;  and  that  only  by  a  combina- 
tion of  the  two  can  the  examiner  convince  himself  that  the  pupil  has 
been  properly  trained.  The  laboratory  record  may  also  furnish 
valuable  evidence,  and,  further,  if  this  be  required  as  part  of  the  test 
for  admission  to  college,  an  incentive  will  be  furnished  to  both 
teacher  and  pupil  to  see  that  the  record  is  well  kept. 

Resolution  19  was  not  the  result  of  much  discussion,  and  is  of 
importance  simply  because  it  is  an*  expression  of  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  the  Conference.  The  arguments  for  and  against  the 


PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY.  121 

certificate-system  are  so  familiar  that  they  need  not  be  mentioned 
here. 

Resolution  21  is  intended  to  counteract,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
tendency  to  lead  pupils  to  think  that,  in  their  work  in  the  laboratory, 
they  are  engaged  in  rediscovering  the  laws  of  Nature.  The  pupils 
may,  to  be  sure,  become  imperfectly  acquainted  with  the  methods  of 
work  that  have  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  laws,  and  they  will,  no 
doubt,  come  to  see  more  and  more  clearly  the  relations  between  the 
facts  and  the  laws,  but  the  Conference  is  clearly  of  the  opinion  that 
it  is  wrong  to  speak  of  the  work  of  the  pupils  as  leading  to  the 
discovery  of  laws. 

IRA  REMSEN,  Professor,  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity, Baltimore,  Md.,  Chairman. 

IRVING  W.  FAY,  The  Belmont  School,  Belmont, 
Calif.,  Secretary. 

*W.  J.  WAGGENER,  Professor,  University  of  Col- 
orado, Boulder,   Colo. 

JAMES  H.  SHEPARD,  Professor,  South  Dakota 
Agricultural  College,  Brookings,  So.  Dak. 

WILLIAM  W.  PAYNE,  Professor,  Carleton  Col- 
lege, Northfield,  Minn. 

G.  W.  KRALL,  Manual  Training  School,  Wash- 
ington University,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

BROWN  AYRES,  Professor,  Tulane  University, 
New  Orleans,  La. 

WILLIAM  McPHERSON,  JR.,  2901  Collinwood 
Avenue,  Toledo,  0. 

GEORGE  RANTOUL  WHITE,  Phillips  Academy, 

Exeter,  N.  If. 

fALFRED  P.  GAGE.  English  High  School,  Boston, 
Mass. 


To  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TE:I  : 

I  respectfully  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  minority  report  on 
the  subjects  of  Resolutions  3  and  5  of  the  report  of  the  Conference 
on  Physics,  Chemistry,  and  Astronomy ;  to- wit :  that  in  the  resolu- 
tions mentioned  the  words  "Physics"  and  "Chemistry"  be  inter- 
changed, so  that  Physics  shall  be  studied  before  Chemistry. 

*  Submits  a  minority  report  against  Resolutions  3  and  5. 
f  See  two  qualifications  below. 


122  PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY. 

In  support  of  this  dissenting  opinion  I  submit  the  following 
reasons : 

In  training  the  faculties  to  make  accurate  observations  and  to 
draw  safe  inferences,  the  order  of  proceedings  should  be  from  the 
more  simple  subject-matter  to  the  less  simple  and  from  that  which  is 
more  obvious  to  the  senses  to  that  which  is  less  so. 

Also,  other  things  equal,  that  should  be  first  studied  which  has 
the  more  abundant  material  for  illustration  and  application : —  which 
occurs  the  more  frequently  in  the  experiences  of  e very-day  life. 

Admitting,  of  course,  the  deep  mystery  which  underlies  and  limits 
all  kinds  of  knowledge  alike,  it  is  still  true  that  a  great  part  of  the 
body  of  knowledge  called  Physics  relates  to  phenomena  wherein  the 
bodies  concerned  are  distinctly  perceptible,  and  their  behavior  is 
also  directly  perceptible  to  the  senses  at  every  stage  of  the  phenome- 
non. The  first  results  come  thus  from  direct  perception  rather  than 
by  inference ;  but  it  is  upon  such  phenomena  that  the  power  of 
making  inferences  should  first  be  trained  ;  for  the  inference  based 
upon  complete  observation  is  more  simple  and  more  safe  than  that 
based  on  other  inferences.  It  is  in  the  light  of  and  from  analogy 
with  the  behavior  of  the  visible  bodies  that  we  may  later  infer  and  at 
least  partly  understand  the  behavior  of  the  invisible  parts,  as  con- 
sidered in  both  Physics  and  Chemistry. 

The  behavior  of  the  parts  of  matter  concerned  in  chemical  changes 
is  inferred  —  not  observed  :  and  the  conceptions  of  it  are  less  simple 
than  those  of  even  molecular  physics ;  as  it  involves  a  special  distri- 
bution of  more  than  one  kind  of  matter ;  and  as  chemical  affinity  is 
evidently  more  special  and  less  simple  than  cohesion  or  adhesion. 

The  rational  study  of  chemical  phenomena  is  therefore  of  a  higher 
order  of  difficulty  than  those  of  physics  —  certainly  than  those  of 
molecular  physics  —  the  portion  of  the  subject  to  which  the  work  of 
the  high  school  in  this  branch  is  largely  directed. 

If  it  be  contended  that  chemistry  may  be  studied  without  inquiring 
into  the  distribution  and  changes  in  the  distribution  of  the  small 
parts  —  seeking  only  to  know  the  products  of  these  changes  ;  it  ma}r 
be  answered  that  few  or  none  would  seriously  favor  reducing  the 
study  of  the  science  to  the  cataloguing  of  chemical  products,  or 
dispensing  with  the  aid  of  the  atomic  theory  and  of  chemical 
formulas  and  equations  based  thereon.  So  far  as  this  method  is 
applicable  at  all,  it  should  go  to  the  primary  school  —  and  a  very 
little  of  it  should  suffice  there. 

To  make  the  study  of  chemical  theory  as  little  artificial  and  as 
much  rational  as  possible,  and  to  secure  intelligent  conception  of  its 
many  and  close  relations  to  physical  laws,  a  previous  training  in  the 


PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY.  123 

conceptions  and  measurements  of  such  fundamental  quantities  as 
mass,  density,  specific  gravit}T,  heat,  specific  heat,  and  others,  would 
seem  practically  indispensable.  A  knowledge  of  optics  is  necessary 
to  an  intelligent  study  of  spectrum  analysis,  some  treatment  of 
which,  at  least,  should  be  included  in  the  high  school  course ;  like- 
wise some  treatment  of  the  facts  of  electrolysis,  better  if  preceded 
by  some  knowledge  about  electrical  currents.  In  fact  it  seems  not 
unreasonable  to  suggest  that  the  whole  subject  of  elementary  physics 
forms  a  desirable  basis  for  the  study  of  the  elements  of  chemistry. 

On  the  other  hand  a  knowledge  of  elementary  chemistry  is  to  but  a 
small  extent  helpful  in  getting  the  knowledge  of  physics  expected 
from  a  high  school  course. 

W.  J.  WAGGENER. 


To  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TEN: 

Resolutions  4  and  5,  which  give  to  Chemistry  the  priority  of  time 
in  relation  to  Physics,  received  my  approval,  not  that  I  deem  that  this 
is  the  natural  or  logical  order  of  sequence,  but  because  Physics 
requires  the  largest  knowledge  of  mathematics  that  the  secondary 
school  affords,  and  because  the  difficulty  of  this  study  demands  the 
greatest  maturity  of  mind. 

My  approval  of  Resolution  7  is  recorded,  but  on  further  and  more 
careful  consideration,  I  am  constrained  to  state  that  it  is  my  opinion 
that  150  hours  may  suffice  for  Chemistry. 

ALFRED  P.  GAGE. 


JOINT   SESSION   OF  THE  CONFERENCES  ON   PHYSICS,  CHEMISTRY,   AND 
ASTRONOMY,  ON  NATURAL  HISTORY,  AND  ON  GEOGRAPHY. 

This  joint  session  was  held  in  the  main  building  of  the  University 
of  Chicago,  with  the  purpose  of  considering  the  amount  of  time  which 
should  be  devoted  to  the  work  represented  by  these  three  Conferences 
during  the  high  school  course.  The  result  of  their  deliberations  will 
be  found  in  the  following  resolution  which  was  carried  with  but  one 
dissenting  vote:  — 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  joint  Conference  that  at 
least  one-quarter  of  the  time  of  the  high-school  course  should  be 
devoted  to  nature-studies  and  that  this  amount  of  work  should  be 
required  for  admission  to  college. 

IRA  REMSEN,   Secretary  of  the  Joint  Session. 


124  PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY. 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  EXPERIMENTS  TO 
THE  CONFERENCE  ON  PHYSICS,  CHEMISTRY, 
AND  ASTRONOMY.1 

GENTLEMEN  :  —  In  accordance  with  your  resolution  appointing  a  com- 
mittee to  select  a  list  of  fifty  experiments  in  Physics  and  one  hundred  in 
Chemistry,  the  Committee  hereby  submit  the  following  Report : 

The  task  of  selecting  these  lists  has  been  a  difficult  one  as  it  must  neces- 
sarily have  been  from  the  great  variety  in  kind  and  difficulty  of  the  same 
experiments  described  by  different  authors. 

It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  Committee  to  select  experiments  that  by  com- 
mon consent  are  used  by  several  authors.  Where  experiments  have  been 
taken  that  are  not  found  widely  used,  it  has  been  on  account  of  their 
quantitative  character,  suitable  experiments  of  this  kind  being  the  most 
difficult  to  find. 

We  fully  realize  that  these  lists  have  only  a  suggestive  force  and  are 
not  to  be  regarded  as  a  prescribed  list  by  those  into  whose  hands  they  will 
fall.  It  has  been  our  purpose  to  make  our  work  of  such  character  as 
shall  be  most  helpful  to  any  teacher  wishing  to  know  the  kind  and  degree 
of  difficulty  of  experiments  suitable  for  preparation  for  admission  to  col- 
lege in  Physics  and  Chemistry. 

In  Physics  the  titles  of  the  experiments  indicate  more  completely  the 
nature  of  the  work  than  those  in  Chemistry. 

In  order  that  any  teacher  wishing  to  make  the  difficult  change  from 
text-book  to  laboratory  work  may  have  as  tangible  and  helpful  sugges- 

1  Resolution  22  was  agreed  to  with  some  hesitation,  as  it  was  thought  that  any 
list  might  be  misleading  and  would  be  sure  to  be  imperfect.  No  committee 
could  hope  in  a  short  time  to  work  out  courses  of  experiments  differing 
materially  from  those  found  in  the  commonly  used  text-books,  and  the  authors 
of  text-books  who  were  members  of  the  Conference  felt  strongly  that  it  would 
be  in  exceedingly  bad  taste,  to  say  the  least,  to  send  out  a  report  referring 
to  their  books  as  containing  the  proper  kinds  of  experiments.  The  arguments 
for  the  appointment  of  the  committee  prevailed,  and  their  report  is  submitted 
herewith.  The  chairman  of  the  Conference  has  heard  from  all  of  the  members 
in  regard  to  the  report.  All  but  one  approve  the  list  of  experiments  in  Physics. 
Seven  approve  the  list  of  experiments  in  Chemistry  in  which  reference  is  made 
to  books.  Two  approve  the  list  without  references,  but  one  of  these  nevertheless 
thinks  that  the  other  list  would  be  likely  to  prove  the  more  helpful.  One  (the 
same  one  who  does  not  approve  the  list  in  Physics)  does  not  approve  either  list. 
He  writes  :  "  I  think  it  would  be  better  for  these  lists  to  be  submitted  simply  as 
a  report  from  our  sub-committee."  Under  these  circumstances  the  chairman  is 
not  clear  as  to  his  duty,  but,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  seven  of  the  ten  members, 
not  including  himself,  have  expressed  their  approval  of  the  list  of  chemical 
experiments  with  references  to  books,  he  has  decided  to  submit  that  one, 
together  with  the  list  of  physical  experiments  which,  as  already  stated,  has  been 
approved  by  nine  members  of  the  Conference.  It  is,  however,  to  be  understood 
that  the  list  is  rather  suggestive  and  tentative  than  final. 

IRA  REMSEN,  Chairman. 


v/ 


PHYSICS.    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY.  129 

1  1  .    Water  of  cry  stalliz  ation  . 

Remsen,  Exp.  28.     (Alum.) 

12.  Water  of  crystallization.     (Efflorescence.) 

Remsen,  Exp.  32. 

13.  Water  of  crystallization.     (Deliquescence.) 

Remsen,  Exp.  81. 

(.4.    Decomposition  of  water  by  sodium. 
Remsen,  Exp.  33. 
Shepard,  p.  328,  art.  363,  Exp.  23. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  215,  Exp.  176. 
Williams,  Exp.  47. 

15.  Distillation  of  a  solution  of  copper  sulphate. 

16.  Preparation  of  hydrogen. 

Remsen,  Exp.  35. 
Cooke,  p.  59,  Exp.  25. 
Shepard,  p.  37,  Art.  35,  Exp.  24. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  23,  Exp.  11. 

17.  Properties  of  hydrogen.     (Extreme  lightness  —  soap  bubbles.) 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  25,  Art.  38. 
Shepard  p.  38,  Art.  36,  Exp.  26. 
Remsen,  Exp.  38. 

18.  Lightness  of  hydrogen  (by  decanting).  . 

Shepard,  p.  38,  Exp.  29. 

Remsen,  Exp.  37. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  25,  Exp.  12. 

19.  Properties  of  hydrogen.     (Inflammability.)      . 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  27,  Exp.  14. 
Remsen,  Exp.  39. 
Shepard,  Art.  36. 

20.  Combustion  of  hydrogen,  forming  water. 

Cooke,  p.  61,  Exp.  27. 
Shepard,  p.  40,  Art.  40. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  28,  Exp.  15. 

21.  Decomposition  of  water  by  the  electric  current.     (Lecture  Exp.) 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  16. 

Remsen1  s  Elements,  p.  43,  Exp.  34. 

Shepard,  Exp.  22. 

22.  Preparation  of  nitric  acid. 

Shepard,  p.  67,  Exp.  60. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  39,  Exp.  22. 
Ivcmsen,  Exp.  42. 
Williams,  Exp.  36. 
Cooke,  p.  81,  Exp.  43  (a). 
o 


130  PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY. 

23.  Action  of  nitric  acid  on  tin. 

Remsen,  Exp.  43. 

24.  Action  of  nitric  acid  on  copper. 

Shepard,  p.  69,  Exp.  66. 
Remsen,  Exp.  44. 

25.  Preparation  of  nitric  oxide. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  33,  Exp.  19. 
Remsen,  Exp.  46. 
Williams,  Exp.  51. 
Cooke,  p.  85,  Exp.  44  (a) 
Shepard,  p.  61,  Exp.  56. 

26.  Properties  of  nitric  oxide. 

Cooke,  p.  85,  Exp.  44  (6). 
Remsen,  Exp.  47. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  33,  Exp.  19  (6). 
Shepard,  Exp.  56,  Art.  62. 

27.  Preparation  of  nitrous  oxide. 

Shepard,  p.  59,  Exp.  54. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  31,  Exp.  17. 
Williams,  Exp.  49. 
Cooke,  p.  176,  Exp.  77. 
Remsen,  Exp.  45. 

28.  Action  of  lime,  caustic  soda,  and  caustic  potash,  on  ammonium  chloride. 

Shepard,  p.  52,  Exps.  45,  46. 
Remsen,  Exp.  40. 

29.  Ammonia  gas. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  48,  Exp.  27. 
Remsen,  Exp.  41. 
Williams,  Exp.  45. 
Shepard,  Exp.  48. 

30.  Preparation  of  chlorine. 

Cooke,  p.  71,  Exp.  36. 
Shepard,  p.  93,  Exp.  70. 
Williams,  Exp.  60. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  56,  Exp.  30. 
Remsen,  Exp.  49. 

31.  Properties  of  chlorine. 

Remsen,  Exp.  49. 

Shepard,  p.  95,  Exps.  71-73. 

Williams,  Exp.  61. 

Cooke,  p.  72,  Exp.  36. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  57,  Exp.  32. 


PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY.  131 

32.  Action  of  sulphuric  acid  on  common  salt. 

Remsen,  Exp.  50. 
Shepard,  Exp.  74. 

33.  Preparation  of  hydrochloric  acid. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  51,  Exp.  28. 
Williams,  Exp.  33. 
Remsen,  Exp.  51. 
Cooke,  p.  70,  Exp.  34. 
Shepard,  p.  97,  Exp.  74. 

34.  Properties  of  hydrochloric  acid. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  50. 
Cooke,  p.  70,  Exp.  35. 
Remsen,  Exp.  51. 

35 .  Neutralization . 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  42,  Exp.  25. 
Williams,  Exp.  28. 
Cooke,  pp.  93,  94. 
Remsen,  Exp.  52. 
Shepard,  Exp.  52. 

36.  Mixture  and  chemical  compound. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  75,  Exp.  47. 
Remsen,  Exps.  9-10. 
Cooke,  p.  108,  Exp.  60. 
Shepard,  Exp.  4. 
Williams,  Exp.  6. 

37.  Physical  and  chemical  solution. 

Cooke,  p.  109,  Exp.  61. 

38.  Action,  of  carbon  on  solutions. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  118,  Exp.  72. 
Remsen,  Exp.  33. 
Williams,  Exp.  20. 
Shepard,  Exp.  92. 

39.  Reducing  action  of  carbon. 

Remsen,  Exp.  54. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  119,  Exp.  74* 

Williams,  Exp.  22. 

Shepard,  Exp.  152. 

40.  Carbon  dioxide  and  lime-water. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  119,  Exp.  73. 
Remsen,  Exp.  57. 
Shepard,  p.  138,  Exp.  99 


132  PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY, 

41.  Preparation  of  carbon  dioxide. 

Shepard,  p.  140,  Exp.  102. 

Remsen,  Exp.  59. 

Williams,  Exp.  54. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  120,  Exp.  75. 

42.  Weight  of  carbon  dioxide. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  121,  Exp.  77. 
Shepard,  Exps.  104,  105. 

43.  Effect  of  acids  on  carbonates. 

Remsen,  Exp.  58. 
Shepard,  Art.  152,  3. 

44."  Preparation  of  carbonates. 
Remsen,  Exps.  61,  62. 
Shepard,  Art.  152,  1. 

45.  Preparation  of  carbon  monoxide. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  123,  Exp.  81. 
Remsen,  Exp.  63. 
Shepard,  p.  137,  Exp.  98. 
Cooke,  p.  78,  Exp.  40  (6). 

46.  Carbon  monoxide  as  a  reducing  agent. 

Remsen,  Exp.  64. 

47.  Nature  of  flame. 

Cooke,  p.  62,  Exp.  28. 
Remsen,  Exp.  65. 
Shepard,  p.  27,  Exp.  17. 
Williams,  Exp.  56. 

48.  Preparation  of  bromine. 

Shepard,  p.  109,  Exp.  82. 
Remsen,  Exp.  66. 
Williams,  Exp.  66. 

49.  Hydrobromic  acid. 

Remsen,  Exp.  67. 
Shepard,  Art.  116. 

50.  Preparation  of  iodine. 

Shepard,  p.  116,  Exp.  85. 
Remsen,  Exp.  68. 
Williams,  Exp.  67. 

51.  Preparation  of  hydriodic  acid, 

Remsen,  Exp.  71. 
Shepard,  p.  117,  Exp.  87. 


PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY.  133 

52.  Solvent  for  iodine. 

Shepard,  p.  117. 
Remsen,  Exp.  69. 

53.  Action  of  iodine  on  starch. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  63,  Exp.  39 
Williams,  Exp.  69. 
Remsen,  Exp.  70. 
Shepard,  Art.  125,  2. 

54.  Hydrofluoric-acid  etching. 

Remsen,  Exp.  72. 
Williams,  Exp.  35. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  67,  Exp.  41. 
Shepard,  Exp.  91. 

55.  Crystallized  sulphur. 

Cooke,  p.  65,  Exp.  31. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  73. 

Williams,  Exp.  71. 

Remsen,  Exp.  73. 

Shepard,  pp.  158-9,  Exps.  Ill,  113. 

56.  Amorphous  sulphur. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  73,  Exp.  44. 
Shepard,  p.  158,  Exp.  112. 
Cooke,  p.  66,  Exp.  31. 
Williams,  Exp.  71. 

57.  Action  of  boiling  sulphur  upon  metals. 

Remsen,  Exp.  74. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  75,  Ex.  47. 

Shepard,  p.  159 ;  p.  11,  Exp.  4. 

58.  Preparation  of  hydrogen  sulphide. 

Remsen,  Exp.  75. 
Williams,  Exp.  72. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  76,  Exp.  48. 
Shepard,  p.  161,  Exp.  115. 
Cooke,  p.  105,  Exp.  59  (6). 

59.  Action  of  hydrogen  sulphide  upon  salts. 

Shepard,  p.  162,  Exp.  116. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  Exp.  51. 
Cooke,  p.  120. 
Remsen,  Exp.  76. 
Williams,  Exp.  73. 


134  PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY, 

60.  Preparation  of  sulphur  dioxide. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  78,  Exp.  52. 
Remsen,  Exp.  77. 
Shepard,  p.  164,  Exp.  118. 

61.  Bleaching  by  sulphur  dioxide. 

Shepard,  p.  166,  Exp.  119. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  80,  Exp.  53. 
Remsen,  Exp.  78. 

62.  Preparation  of  sulphuric  acid.     (Lecture  Exp.) 

63.  Burning  of  phosphorus. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  93,  Exp.  57. 
Williams,  Exp.  74. 
Remsen,  Exp.  80. 
Shepard,  Exp.  11. 

64.  Arsenic,  Marsh's  test. 

Remsen,  Exps.  82,  83. 
Shepard,  Art.  254,  2. 

65.  Reduction  of  arsenic  oxide. 

Shepard,  p.  242,  Exp.  152. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  104,  Exp.  62. 
Remsen,  Exp.  84. 

66.  Preparation  of  stibine. 

Remsen,  Exp.  85. 
Shepard,  Art.  258,  2. 

67.  Potash  from  wood  ashes. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  220,  Exp.  179. 
Remsen,  Exp.  86. 
Shepard,  p.  325. 

68.  Potassium  on  water. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  222,  Exp.  181. 
Remsen,  Exp.  87. 
Williams,  Exp.  46. 
Shepard,  Art.  359. 

69.  Preparation  of  potassium  carbonate. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  226,  Exp.  184. 
Shepard,  p.  325. 

70.  Potassium  nitrate  and  charcoal. 

Remsen,  Exp.  88. 

Williams,  Exp.  78. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  226,  Exp.  184. 

Shepard,  Exp.  64. 


PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY.  135 

71.  Flame  tests  for  potassium  and  sodium. 

Shepard,  p.  326,  Art.  360;  p.  333,  Art.  364. 
Remsen,  Exp.  91. 

72.  Volatility  of  ammonium  chloride. 

Remsen,  Exp.  95. 

73.  Examination  of  lime-water. 

Remsen,  Exp.  97. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  243,  Exp.  195. 

Shepard,  p.  314. 

74.  Plastei  of  Paris  from  gypsum. 

Remsen,  Exp.  98. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  245,  Art.  423. 

Shepard,  p.  315,  Art.  349  (6). 

75.  Action  of  zinc  and  iron  on  copper  sulphate. 

Shepard,  p.  259,  Exp.  161. 
Remsen,  Exp.  99. 

76.  Burning  magnesium. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  252,  Exp.  201. 
Shepard,  Exp.  107  and  Art.  353. 

77.  Caustic  soda  on  copper  sulphate. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  276,  Exps.  220,  221. 
Remsen,  Exp.  100. 

78  and  79.    Analysis  of  coin  silver. 
Cooke,  p.  116,  Exp.  65. 
Remsen,  Exp.  98. 
Williams,  Exp.  91. 
Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  236,  Exp.  192. 
Remsen,  Exp.  102. 

80.  Preparation  of  silver  chloride. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  236,  Exp.  192. 
Remsen,  Exp.  103. 
Shepard,  Arts.  241  and  242. 

81.  Action  of  lead  acetate  on  zinc. 

Remsen,  Exp.  109. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  255,  Exp.  204. 

Shepard,  Exp.  136. 

82.  Potassium  chromate  and  dichromate. 

Remsen,  Exp.  101. 

Shepard,  Art.  297  (c)  and  (d). 


136  PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY. 

83.  Preparation  of  barium  and  lead  chromates. 

Remseri,  Exp.  107. 

Shepard,  Art.  297  (e),  and  342  (a). 

84.  Action  of  water  upon  lead. 

Remsen,  Exp.  110. 
Shepard,  Art.  237. 

85.  Copper  and  mercury. 

Shepard,  Art.  246,  4. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  280,  Exp.  224. 

86.  Aluminum  and  caustic  soda. 

Eliot  &  Storer,  p.  259,  Exp.  206. 
Shepard,  Art.  301. 

87.  Alum   and   potassium   carbonate    (dissolved   separately  and  poured 

together) . 
Shepard,  Art.  301. 

88.  Aluminum  in  hydrochloric  acid  and  caustic  soda. 

89.  (Quantitative)  Solvent  power  of  water. 

Cooke,  p.  36,  Exp.  11. 

90.  Composition  of  hydrochloric  acid  gas. 

Cooke,  p.  70,  Exp.  35. 

91.  Illustration  of  law  of  definite  proportions. 

Cooke,  p.  Ill,  Exp.  63. 

92.  Composition  of  nitric  oxide. 

Cooke,  p.  85,  Exp.  44  (6). 

93.  Density  of  hydrogen. 

Cooke,  p.  60,  Exp.  26 ;  p.  128,  Exp.  69. 

94.  Specific  gravity  of  carbon  dioxide. 

Cooke,  p.  130,  Exp.  70. 

95.  Specific  gravity  of  vapor  of  alcohol. 

Cooke,  p.  132,  No.  71. 

96.  Atomic  weight  of  zinc. 

Cooke,  p.  144,  Exp.  74. 

97.  Heat  of  hydration  and  solution. 

Cooke,  p.  179,  Exp.  79. 

98.  Identification  of  substances  by  the  characteristic  properties. 

99.  Five  unknown  substances,   e.g.,   salt,   potassium  chloride,    calcium 

chloride,   ammonium  chloride,   barium  chloride,   given  out  for 
identification. 


PHYSICS,    CHEMISTRY,    AND    ASTRONOMY.  137 

100.  To  solutions  of  sulphuric  acid,  sodium  sulphate,  potassium  sulphate, 
ammonium  sulphate,  zinc  sulphate,  calcium  sulphate,  add  a  little 
hydrochloric  acid  and  then  a  solution  of  barium  chloride.  To 
the  chlorides  of  the  same  metals  add  the  same  reagents. 


.  —  The  books  referred  to  in  the  preceding  list  are  : 

1.  "Elements  of  Inorganic  Chemistry,"  by  James  H.  Shephard.      Publishers, 
D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.     Boston.     1892. 

2.  "  An  Elementary  Manual  of  Chemistry,"  abridged  from  Eliot  &  Storer's 
Manual,  by  Wm.  Bipley  Nichols.     Publishers,  American  Book  Company.     New 
York,  Cincinnati,  Chicago. 

3.  "  A  Laboratory  Manual,"  by  Ira  Remsen.     Publisher,  Henry  Holt  &  Co. 
1890.     New  York. 

4.  "Laboratory  Practice,"  by  Josiah  Parsons  Cooke.     Publishers,  D.  Apple- 
ton  &  Co.     1891.    New  York. 

5.  "  Laboratory  Manual  of  General  Chemistry,"  by  R.  P.  Williams.     Ginn  & 
Co.     Boston.     1892. 


NATURAL  HISTORY. 

To  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TEN  :  — 

The  Conference  on  the  study  of  Natural  History  (biology,  including 
botany,  zoology  and  physiology)  in  elementary  and  secondary  schools 
met,  December  28,  1892,  at  the  University  of  Chicago. 

There  were  present  at  the  first  session,  Prof.  C.  E.  Bessey  of  the 
University  of  Nebraska ;  Prof.  S.  F.  Clarke  of  Williams  College  ; 
Prof.  D.  H.  Campbell  of  Leland  Standford,  Jr.  University  ;  Presi- 
dent J.  M.  Coulter  of  the  Indiana  University ;  Prof.  C.  B.  Scott  of 
the  St.  Paul  High  School ;  Dr.  O.  S.  Westcott  of  the  North  Division 
High  School,  Chicago, -and  W.  B.  Powell  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

W.  B.  Powell  was  made  Chairman,  and  Prof.  C.  B.  Scott,  Secre- 
tary of  the  committee. 

At  subsequent  sessions,  Prof.  A.  H.  Tuttle  of  the  University  of 
Virginia  and  Prof.  A.  C.  Boyden  of  Bridge  water  Normal  School 
joined  the  committee. 

Six  sessions  were  held.  At  these  sessions  full  discussion  was  had 
respecting  the  work  in  biology,  adapted  to  primary  schools,  grammar 
schools  and  high  schools. 

Courses  of  study  were  discussed  at  length  and  compared,  while 
methods  of  instruction  received  due  consideration  by  the  committee. 
After  full  and  harmonious  discussion,  in  whose  conclusions  there  was 
finally  perfect  agreement,  results  were  reached  as  set  forth  in  the 
following :  — 

ANSWERS  TO  QUESTIONS  SUGGESTED  BY  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TEN. 

QUESTION  1.  In*  the  school  course  of  study  extending  approxi- 
mately from  the  ages  of  six  years  to  eighteen  years  —  a  course 
including  the  periods  of  both  elementary  and  secondary  instruction  — 
at  what  age  should  the  study,  which  is  the  subject  of  the  conference, 
be  first  introduced  ? 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  judgment  of  the  Conference  that,  while  the 
principles  of  hygiene  should  be  included  in  the  work  of  the  lower  grades, 
the  study  of  physiology  as  a  science  may  best  be  pursued  in  the  later 
years  of  the  high-school  course.  We  recommend  that  in  the  high  school 
a  daily  period,  for  one  half  year,  be  devoted  to  the  study  of  anatomy, 
physiology  and  hygiene,  with  as  large  an  amount  of  practical  work  as  is 
possible. 

Resolved,  That  the  study  of  natural  history  (botany  and  zoology) 
should  begin  in  the  primary  schools  at  the  beginning  of  the  school  course. 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  139 

NOTE.  —  The  study  of  both  plants  and  animals  should  begin  in  the  lowest 
grades,  or  even  in  the  Kindergarten.  One  object  of  such  work  is  to  train  the 
children  to  get  knowledge  first  hand.  Experience  shows  that  if  these  studies 
begin  later  in  the  course,  after  the  habit  of  depending  on  authority — teachers 
and  books  —  has  been  formed,  the  results  are  much  less  satisfactory.  Experience 
shows  also,  that  if  from  the  beginning,  "  nature  study  "  is  closely  correlated  with 
or  made  the  basis  of  language  Avork,  drawing,  and  other  forms  of  expression, 
the  best  results  are  obtained  in  all. 

QUESTION  2.  After  it  is  introduced,  how  many  hours  a  week  for 
how  many  years  should  be  devoted  to  it  ? 

Resolved,  That  no  less  than  one  hour  per  week,  divided  into  at  least 
two  periods,  should  be  devoted,  throughout  the  whole  course  below  the  high 
school,  to  the  study  of  plants  and  animals  ;  that  in  this  study  no  text  book 
should  be  used,  and  that  these  observation  lessons  should,  as  far  as 
possible,  be  made  the  basis  of,  or  correlated  with,  work  in  language, 
drawing  and  literature. 

NOTE. — It  is  agreed  that,  by  exercising  forethought  in  collecting  materials 
and  judgment  in  planning  the  work,  the  study  of  natural  history  can  be  continued, 
to  the  best  advantage,  throughout  the  whole  year,  instead  of  being  confined  to 
the  fall  and  spring,  as  is  now  the  practice  in  most  schools  where  the  study  is 
pursued.  Much  can  be  studied  during  the  winter  which  is  not  accessible  at  any 
other  time. 

QUESTION  3.  How  many  hours  a  week  for  how  many  years  should 
be  devoted  to  it  during  the  last  four  years  of  the  complete  course ; 
that  is,  during  the  ordinaiy  high  school  period  ? 

Resolved,  That  a  minimum  of  one  year's  study  of  natural  history 
should  be  required  in  every  course  in  the  high  school,  and  that  at  least 
three  fifths  of  the  time  should  be  employed  in  laboratory  work. 

NOTE.  —  It  is  agreed  that  the  year  of  study  in  natural  history,  recommended 
as  a  minimum  for  the  high  school,  should  be  a  consecutive  year  of  daily  recita- 
tions or  laboratory  work,  and  that  it  is  better  to  have  the  year's  work  devoted  to 
one  subject,  either  botany  or  zoology,  than  to  have  it  divided  between  the  two. 

While  the  choice  between  botany  and  zoology  should  be  made  by  the  teachers 
or  pupils,  the  members  of  the  Conference,  with  one  or  two  exceptions  (the  only 
point  about  which  there  has  been  any  decided  difference  of  opinion  shown  in 
their  deliberations),  believe  that  botany  is  better  for  the  high  school  than  zoology, 
because  materials  for  the  study  of  that  subject  are  probably  more  easily  obtained 
than  those  for  the  study  of  zoology ;  because  the  study  of  plants  is  more 
attractive  to  the  average  pupil ;  and  because  in  the  study  of  animals  many 
prejudices  or  aversions  have  to  be  overcome. 

The  study,  to  be  of  much  value,  must  consist  largely  of  laboratory  work, 
actual  work,  by  the  pupils,  with  the  plants  or  animals.  This  cannot  be  too 
strongly  emphasized. 

The  Conference  also  urges  that,  in  addition  to  the  year's  study,  recommended 
as  a  minimum  requirement  in  every  course  in  the  high  school,  opportunity  be 
given  for  additional  work  in  these  sciences. 


140  NATURAL    HISTORY. 

QUESTION  4.  What  topics  or  parts  of  the  subject  may  reasonably 
be  covered  during  the  whole  course? 

QUESTION  5.  What  topics,  or  parts,  of  the  subject  may  best  be 
reserved  for  the  last  four  years? 

Resolved,  That  the  general  comparative  morphology  of  plants  and 
animals  be  recommended  as  the  part  of  natural  history  most  suitable  for 
study  in  the  secondary  and  lower  schools ;  that  in  the  primary  and 
grammar  grades  there  should  be  a  study  of  gross  anatomy,  and  in  the 
secondary  schools  a  study  of  minute  anatomy. 

NOTE. — The  study  of  botany  and  zoology  should  include  a  general  view  of 
the  plant  and  animal  kingdoms.  Limiting  the  study  of  botany  to  flowering 
plants  and  of  zoology  to  two  or  three  sub-kingdoms  of  animals,  gives  the  learner 
imperfect  and  distorted  ideas.  The  plants  and  animals  selected  for  study  should 
be  typical  forms,  or  types,  and  at  the  same  time,  when  possible,  forms  familiar 
to  the  students,  or  common  in  their  vicinity.  In  the  lower  grades  the  work 
should  be  a  study  of  living  forms,  of  the  plant  growing  and  of  the  animal  in 
action.  Here  the  steps  should  be  (1)  life  and  function,  (2)  structure,  (3) 
comparison.  Mere  analysis  or  identification  is  believed  to  be  of  very  little 
value.  Too  many  scientific  or  technical  terms  should  be  avoided.  No  text-book 
should  be  used  below  the  high  school. 

The  work  in  the  high  school  should  be  a  study  of  minute  anatomy  and  classi- 
fication. 

Tiiroughout  all  the  work  the  aim  should  be  to  make  the  observations  and  notes 
of  the  pupils  systematic,  clear  and  exact.  Careful  drawings  should  be  insisted 
on  from  the  beginning.  If  effort  is  made  to  have  the  pupils  obtain  clear  and 
exact  ideas,  and  to  express  them  clearly  and  exactly  in  words  or  by  drawings,  the 
study  will  be  successful  as  a  department  of  science,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
valuable  and  efficient  as  an  aid  in  training  pupils  in  the  arts  of  expression. 

QUESTION  G.  In  what  forms  and  to  what  extent  should  the  subject 
enter  into  college  requirements  for  admission?  Such  questions  as 
the  sufficiency  of  translation  at  sight  as  a  test  of  knowledge  of  a 
language,  or  the  superiority  of  a  laboratory  examination  in  a  scientific 
subject  to  a  written  examination  oo  a  text-book,  are  intended  to  be 
suggested  under  this  head  by  the  phrase  "  in  what  form." 

Rcsolccd,  That  the  year's  work  in  natural  history,  as  outlined  for  the 
Tiigh  school,  should  be  required  for  entrance  to  college  in  every  course; 
that  the  examination  should  be  both  a  written  test  and  a  laboratory  test, 
and  that  the  laboratory  note  books,  covering  the  year's  work,  certified  by 
the  teacher  as  original,  should  be  required  at  the  examination. 

NOTE. — The  members  of  the  Conference  feel  that,  while  an  examination  in 
science  may  be  partly  written,  to  test  the  pupil's  general  knowledge  of  the 
subject,  it  should  be  mainly  a  laboratory  examination,  to  test  his  method  of  study 
and  his  ability  in  using  it. 

QUESTION  7.  Should  the  subject  be  treated  differently,  for  pupils 
who  are  going  to  college,  f  >r  t'.iose  who  are  going  to  a  scientific  school, 
and  for  those  who,  presumably,  are  going  to  neither? 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  141 

QUESTION  8.  At  what  stage  should  this  differentiation  begin,  if 
any  be  recommended  ? 

Resolved,  That  differentiation  appears  to  be  unwise  and  therefore  not 
desirable. 

QUESTION  9.  Can  an}T  description  be  given  of  the  best  method  of 
teaching  this  subject  throughout  the  school  course  ? 

Resolved,  That  the  study  of  natural  history  in  both  the  elementary 
school  and  the  high  school  should  be  by  direct  observational  study  with 
the  specimens  in  the  hands  of  each  pupil,  and  that  in  the  work  below  the 
high  school  no  text-book  should  be  used, 

NOTE.  —  See  notes  on  Questions  3,  4  and  5. 

QUESTION  10.     Can  any  description  be  given  of  the  best  modes  of 
testing  attainments  in  this  subject  at  college  admission  examinations? 
NOTE.  — See  answer  to  Question  6. 

QUESTION  11.  For  those  cases  in  which  colleges  and  universities 
permit  a  division  of  the  admission  examination  into  a  preliminary 
and  a  final  examination,  separated  by  at  least  a  year,  can  the  best 
limit  between  the  preliminary  and  the  final  examinations  be  approxi- 
mately defined  ? 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  Conference  believe  that  a  division 
of  the  admission  examination  is  unwise,  if  the  entrance  requirement 
includes  but  one  year  of  natural  history  study,  but,  that  if  the  entrance 
requirement  includes  two  years  of  such  study,  a  division  may  be  advisable  ; 
in  which  case  the  preliminary  examination  should  cover  a  general  outline 
of  the  plant  or  animal  kingdom  with  laboratory  tests ;  while  the  final 
examination  should  be  a  test  for  knowledge,  and  for  skill  in  examining 
and  showing  some  special  phase  of  botany  or  zoology. 

The  following  action  was  taken  in  a  joint  session  of  the  three 
conferences  held  in  Chicago  : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  the  Joint  Conference  that  at  least  one 
fourth  of  the  time  of  the  high-school  course  should  be  devoted  to  nature 
studies,  and  that  this  amount  of  preparation  should  be  required  for 
entrance  to  college. 

WORK   SUGGESTED. 

Though  a  full  exchange  of  opinion  was  had  respecting  courses  of 
study  in  the  different  subjects  under  consideration  for  the  different 
grades  of  school,  yet  no  course  of  study  was  made  at  the  conference. 

It  was  agreed  that  Prof.  Scott  should  outline  a  course  of  nature 
study,  including  both  botany  and  zoology,  for  grades  of  school  below 
the  high  school. 


142  NATURAL    HISTORY. 

That  President  John  M.  Coulter  should  prepare  an  outline  of  work 
in  botany  to  be  recommended  for  high  schools. 

That  Prof.  O.  S.  Westcott  should  prepare  an  outline  of  work  in 
zoology  for  high  schools. 

That  Prof.  Albert  H.  Tuttle  should  outline  a  course  in  physiology 
for  primar}"  and  secondary  schools. 

That  Prof.  C.  E.  Bessey  should  report  upon  the  best  methods  of 
teaching  natural  history  throughout  the  schools,  including  recom- 
mendations for  the  use  of  instruments  and  note  books. 

That  Prof.  A.  C.  Boy  den  of  Bridge  water  Normal  School  should  con- 
sider the  form  of  examination  to  be  adopted  for  admission  to  college. 

The  sub-reports  of  Messrs.  Scott,  Coulter,  Westcott  and  Tuttle  are 
appended.  A  subreport  submitted  by  Prof.  Bessey  which  covers  the 
ground  of  that  submitted  by  Prof.  Scott  is  not  given  here.  Prof. 
Boyden  reports  that  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  Conference  cover 
adequately  the  subjects  referred  to  him. 


Respectfully  submitted, 


W.  B.  POWELL, 

Chairman. 


NATURE  STUDY  FOR  GRADES  OF  SCHOOL  BELOW  THE 
HIGH  SCHOOL. 

GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  AND  PLANS. 
Objects. 

1.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  primary  object  of  nature  study 
is  not  that  the  children  may  get  a  knowledge  of  plants  and  animals. 
The  first  purpose  of  the  work  is  to  interest  them  in  nature.  This  must 
be  done  before  other  desirable  results  can  be  obtained.  The  second 
y  purpose  is  to  train  and  develop  the  children  ;  i.  e.,  to  train  them  to 
observe,  compare,  and  express  (see,  reason,  and  tell)  ;  to  cause  them 
to  form  the  habit  of  investigating  carefully  and  of  making  clear, 
truthful  statements,  and  to  develop  in  them  a  taste  for  original  in- 
vestigation. The  third  purpose  is  the  acquisition  of  knowledge. 
This,  however,  must  be  "gained  by  actual  experience,"  and  it  must 
be  "knowledge  classified,"  or  science. 

For  the  attainment  of  these  objects,  interest,  power,  knowledge, 
the  children  must  study  the  plant ;  no  book  should  be  used  by  them. 
The  effort  of  the  teacher  should  be  so  to  interest  and  guide  them,  that 
they  will  learn  how  to  work  profitably. 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  143 


Materials. 

2.  The  children  should  study  the  plant  as  a  whole,  not  merely  a 
part,  as  seeds,  leaves,  flowers  ;    it  is  a  mistake  to  limit  the  work  to 
one  part  to  the  exclusion  of  the  others,  and  is  as  great  a  mistake  to 
allow  the  children  to  study  the  parts  without  leading  them  to  see  the 
mutual  relations  and  dependence  of  the  parts. 

3.  The  stud}*-  should  not  be  restricted  to  flowering  plants,  as  trees 
and  weeds,  but  should  be  extended  as  well  to  flowerless  plants,  such 
as  ferns,   horse-tails,   mushrooms    and   toadstools,   mosses,   lichens, 
fungi,  and  fresh  and  salt-water  algae.     Those  children  who  carry  the 
work  through  eight  years  should  obtain  a  fair  idea  of  the  plant  king- 
dom, including  its  principal  divisions.     Those  who  stop  short  of  the 
eight  years'  work  should  have  a  general  idea  of  the  whole  plant  as  a 
type  of  the  plant  kingdom,  more  or  less  detailed  and  generalized  ac- 
cording to  the  amount  of  time  spent  in  school. 

Methods. 

4.  The  plant  should  be  studied  as  a  living  organism  and  not  merely 
as  a  form  or  structure.     The  child  should  learn  that  each  part  has 
something  to  do,  and  he  should  discover  that  what  it  does,  and  the 
way  in  which  it  does  it,  determine  its  form  and  structure.     The  study 
of  seeds,  buds,  or  flowers  should  begin  with  growth  and  development 
or  unfolding,  which  should  lead  to  an  investigation  of  use  or  function, 
and,  finally,  to  an  examination  of  structure.     The  comparison  of  the 
uses  and  structure  of  different  plants  results  in  classification. 

The  order  of  study  is  : 

Life,  growth,  and  development. 

Use  or  function. 

Structure. 

Comparison. 

Classification. 

5.  The  plant  should  be  studied  in  its  relations  to  its  environment, — 
light,  air,  water,  soil,  climate,  and  other  plants, — and  in  its  relations 
to  the  lower  animals  and  to  man.     For  the  time  being  the  plant  is  the 
centre  of  the  world.     The  study  furnishes  many  opportunities  for 
coordinating  science  work  with  the  other  studies  of  the  school,  and 
at  the  same  time  for  showing  man's  use  of  plants  and  his  dependence 
on  them. 

6.  As  3roung  children  cannot  generalize,  it  seems  wise  to  limit  the 
work  during  the  first  two 'years  to  the  study  of  the  germination,  de- 
velopment, growth,  and  structure  of  three  or  four  typical  plants,  like 
the  bean,  pea,  and  sunflower,  studying,  of  course,  only  those  features 

*'>'A/?y\ 

DIVERSITY) 


144  NATURAL    HISTORY. 

that  are  easily  understood.  Gradually  more  details  may  be  studied, 
and  other  kinds  of  plants,  flowering  and  floweiiess,  examined,  caus- 
ing the  pupils'  ideas  to  be  more  and  more  complete  and  generalized. 

7.  Whatever  is  being  studied,  the  questions  to  be  answered  are : 
What?    Why?     How? 

First:     What  does  it  do,  and  what  is  it? 

Second :     Why  does  it  do  so,  and  why  is  it  so  ? 

Third:     How  does  it  do  it,  and  how  did  it  become  so? 
At  first  little  can  be  done  but  answer  the  question  "  what"  ;  grad- 
ually "  what  "  includes  so  many  particulars  that  an  answer  to  "why" 
becomes  possible;    before  the  end  of   the  course,  "how"  can  and 
should  be  answered. 

8.  In  the  study,  during  the  earlier  years,  of  germination  and  of 
buds  and  flowers,  that  which  appeals  most  to  the  children  is  the  pro- 
vision for  the  protection  and  care  of  certain  parts  ;  later  the  perfect 
order  of  nature  will  be  seen,  when  the  idea  of  system  and  plan  may 
be  developed.     In  time  the  highest  function  of  the  plant  must  be 
shown,  that  of  reproduction,  when  the  plant  should  be  studied  as  an 
arrangement  for  producing  seeds.     While  all  these  thoughts  should 
be  developed  by  slow  degrees  from  the  beginning,  it  seems  wise  to 
emphasize   them    in   the   order   suggested.       The    central   thoughts 
should    be : 

For  the  first  and  second  years,  care  and  protection. 
For  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  years,  order  and  system. 
For  the  sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth  years,  reproduction. 

Expression. 

9.  Observation  becomes  more  critical  if  its  results  are  expressed 
b}T  the  observer.     For  the  younger  children,  motion,  stitching,  model- 
ing,  drawing    and    painting,    are    more   "expressive"   than    speech. 
Speech,  as  the  most  universal  method  of  communicating  ideas,  should 
be  emphasized  in  all  but  the  earliest  ye&rs  of  the  course.     A  drawing 
gives  better  ideas  of  form  and  of  relations  of  parts  than  can  be  given 
by  verbal  description.     It  will  be  found  that  often  the  simplest  and 
quickest  way  for  pupils  to  get  clear,  sharp  ideas  about  the  objects 
they  are  studying  is  to  have  them  draw  the  objects. 

Coordination  with  other  Studies. 

10.  Nature  stud}'  will  not  succeed  unless  it  is  coordinated  with 
other  studies.     It  should  not  be  pushed  into  the  course  as  an  extra, 
but  should  be  made  the  basis  of  much  of  tfie  other  work  of  the  school. 
Experience  has  shown  that  when  it  is  used  as  a  basis  for  the  early 
training  in  language  and  drawing,  an  interest  in  these  studies  is 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  .      145 

easily  secured1  and  sustained.  It  is  more  pleasing  to  pupils  to  express 
ideas,  resulting  from  their  own  observations,  than  to  copy  the  expres- 
sions of  others,  or  to  put  into  somewhat  different  form  expression  ob- 
tained from  teacher  or  book.  The  study  of  nature  is  a  necessary 
preparation  for  a  full  understanding  of  much  beautiful  and  valuable 
literature.  Opportunities  for  connecting  such  work 'with  geography 
are  almost  numberless.  By  means  of  this  work,  even  arithmetic  may 
have  reality,  and  thus  new  life,  infused  into  it. 

Time  of  Year  for  Studying. 

11.  It  seems  wise  that  the  study  of  plants  should  begin  in  early 
spring  time,  from  February  to  April,  and  that  it  should  be  particularly 
emphasized  then,  though  not  restricted  to  that  season  of  the  year. 
Much  can  be  done  in  the  fall  and  even  in  mid-winter.  The  Confer- 
ence has  urged  that  the  study  of  plants  be  continued  throughout  the 
year,  at  least  twice  a  week. 

COURSE  OF  WORK. 
Central  thought :     Care  and  protection. 

Seeds  and  Germination. 
Let  the  children  : 

1.  Plant  beans  and  watch  their  growth. 

2.  When  the  seedlings  are  two  or  three  inches  high,  study  the  seed 
in  its  parts. 

3.  Study  the  pea  in  a  corresponding  way,  and  then  compare  it  with 
the  bean,  noting  first  the  differences  and  then  the  resemblances. 

4.  Study  seed  and  plant,  in  each  case,  in  relation  to  their  surround- 
ings, air,  water,  and  sunlight.     (Children  should  be  led  to  discover 
the  uses  of  the  different  parts,  first  to  the  plant  and  then  to  animals 
and  man.) 

5.  Continue  the  observations  on  the  bean  and  the  pea  during  the 
remaining  part  of  the  school  year,  noting  the  development,  use,  and 
general  structure  of  buds,  stems,  roots,  leaves,  and,  if  possible,  of 
flowers  and  fruit. 

Buds. 

The  study  of  buds  should  be  carried  on  in  connection  with  the  work 
In  germination  suggested  above. 

Let  the  children  : 

1.   Gather  branches  having  large  buds,  such  as  the  horse-chestnut, 
the  elder,  or  the  lilac  ;  put  them  in  water  ;  watch  them,  and  tell  about 
their  development  and  the  gradual  unfolding  of  their  parts. 
10 


146  NATURAL    HISTORY. 

2.  Study  the  stem  and  its  parts,  wood,  bark,  and  pith,  their  uses 
and  structure. 

3.  Later,  study  fresh  buds  and  compare  them  with  those  which 
have  unfolded. 

4.  Compare  the  first  bud  studied  with  some  other  large  bud. 

Reproduction  and  Flowers. 

In  connection  with  the  study  of  buds,  call  the  attention  of  the  chil- 
dren to  the  catkins  of  the  willow,  the  poplar,  and  the  hazel,  and  then 
to  the  flowers  of  the  elder,  the  lilac,  and,  if  possible,  of  the  bean  and 
pea. 

Let  the  children : 

1.  Find   dust-bearing    (staminate)    and   seed-bearing    (pistillate) 
flowers  and  parts  of  flowers.     (This  will  give  opportunity  to  develop 
the  idea  that  flowers  are  for  the  production  and  protection  of  seeds.) 

2.  Study  the  dissemination  of  seeds  that  fly,  as  those  of  the  dande- 
lion and  the  milkweed  ;  seeds  that  sail,  as  those  of  the  maple  and  the 
basswood ;  seeds  that  stick,  as  those  of  the  burdock  and  the  tick; 
seeds  that  fall,  as  those  of  the  bean  and  the  pea. 

3.  Study  fruits.     (They  should  learn  the  use  of  fruit  to  the  plant 
and  to  man.) 

As  early  as  may  seem  wise  the  teacher  should  develop,  largely  by 
stories  and  supplementary  reading,  the  use  of  the  other  parts  of  the 
plant  to  the  flowers  and  seeds. 

Results  of  Two  Years'  Work. 

At  the  close  of  the  second  year  the  children  should  have  a  fair  idea 
of  the  plant  as  a  whole,  knowing  something  of  all  its  parts,  of  their 
uses  and  relations,  and  particularly  of  the  ways  in  which  the  plant 
and  its  parts  are  cared  for  and  protected. 

THIRD  AND  FOURTH  YEARS. 

Central  thought :  Care  and  protection  leading  to  order  and  system, 
and  plan. 

Seeds  and  Germination. 

Let  the  children : 

1.  Study  the  bean,  the  pea,  the  sunflower,  and  the  pumpkin,  as 
before,  but  more  in  detail,  discovering  something  of  the  order  or  plan 
of  growth,  and  searching  for  answers  to  the  questions  "why"  and 
"how." 

'2.  Study,  more  in  detail,  plants  before  studied,  and  examine  other 
plants  to  learn  the  uses  of  the  different  parts  of  the  seedling  and  the 
relation  of  the  plant  to  its  surroundings. 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  147 

3.  Discover  where  the  seeds  are  formed,  how  they  escape  from  the 
ovary,  and  how  they  are  disseminated. 

4.  Compare  the  development  and  structure  of  the  seeds  suggested 
above  with  those  of  the  morning  glory  and  the  four-o'clock,  and  learn 
the  classification  into  albuminous  and  exalbuminous  seeds. 

Buds. 
Let  the  pupils : 

1.  Study  the  same  buds  as  before,  but  more  in  detail,  to  discover 
the  order  shown  in  the  buds  and  their  parts. 

2.  Compare  these  with  several  other  buds,  including  some  of  the 
small  ones,  for  the  purpose  of  noticing  their  positions  and  arrange- 
ment, as  well  as  their  protection. 

3.  Study,  as  an  introduction  to  leaves,  the  arrangement  and. fold- 
ing of  leaves  in  the  buds,  and  watch  their  unfolding,  still  noting  the 
order  and  plan. 

4.  Study  and  watch  in  a  similar  way  the  development  of  flower  buds. 

Leaves. 
Let  the  children  : 

1.  Watch  the  unfolding  of  the  leaves  in  the  bud  and  notice  their 
protection  and  arrangement  as  suggested  before. 

2.  Note  the  uses  of  leaves  and  their  parts,  stipules,  stalk,  and 
blade,  and  of  veins,  epidermis,  breathing  pores,  and  pulp.     (In  con- 
nection with  the  uses  of  veins  they  should  study  venation.) 

3.  Study  the  positions,  arrangement,  and  parts  of  leaves  with  ref- 
erence to  their  uses  ;    their  relation  to  sunlight,  air,  rain,  and  the 
directing  of  water  to  the  roots. 

4.  Study  the  positions  of  leaves  with  reference  to  buds,  and  note 
the  order  and  plan  shown  in  bud  and  leaf. 

By  means  of  charts  or  blackboard  outlines,  to  which  pupils  may 
constantly  refer,  they  should  be  familiarized  with  the  more  common 
forms  of  the  leaf  as  a  whole,  and  of  base,  apex,  and  margin,  and 
should  be  trained  to  give  orderly,  exact,  concise  descriptions. 

Reproduction  and  Flowers. 

Develop  by  the  study  of  the  flowers  themselves  the  fact  that  there 
are  two  kinds  of  flowers,  those  with  seed  boxes  (pistillate)  and  those 
with  boxes  containing  a  .powder  (staminate).  By  the  study  of  the 
willow,  maple,  and  early  meadow-rue,  develop  the  fact  that  these  two 
kinds  of  boxes  may  be,  and  usually  are  found,  in  the  same  flower. 

Let  the  children  : 

1.  Discover  that  both  seed  boxes  (ovaries)  and  pollen  boxes  (an- 
thers) are  found  in  all  kinds  of  flowering  plants.  (Both,  then,  must 
be  very  important.) 


148  NATURAL    HISTORY. 

2.  Note  how  well  they  are  protected  in  bud  and  flower.      (Thft 
floral  envelope  can  be  studied  simply,  at  this  stage,  as  a  protection 
for  stamens  and  pistils.) 

3.  Now  study  the  use  of  the  pollen  and  its  function  in  the  forma- 
tion of  seeds. 

4.  Note  the  order  and  plan  of  the  flower  and  of  its  parts. 

5.  Learn  now  the  fact  that  the  main  work  of  the  plant  is  to  pro- 
duce seeds,  and  that  root,  stem,  and  leaf  cooperate  in  this  work. 

Result  of  Four  Years'  Work. 

At  the  close  of  the  fourth  }Tear  the  pupils  should  be  thinking  about 
the  "  why"  and  the  "  how  "  of  the  world  around  them  ;  the}'  should 
have  some  knowledge  of  the  order  and  system  which  prevails  in  na- 
ture, and  should  begin  to  comprehend  something  of  the  plan  of  com- 
mon plants,  of  their  reproduction  and  growth,  and  of  the  general  uses 
and  the  gross  structure  of  their  parts. 

FIFTH  AND  SIXTH  YEARS. 

Central  thought :     System,  plan,  and  purpose. 

The  plant  as  an  organism  for  producing  seeds  or  new  plants. 

Seeds  and  Germination. 
Let  pupils : 

1.  Review  at  least  two  exalbuminous  and  two  albuminous  seeds. 

2.  Plant  corn,  watch  its  development,  and  then  study  the  seed  and 
its  parts,  and  afterwards  study  the  pine  seed  in  a  corresponding  way. 

3.  Review  classification  into  exalbuminous  and  albuminous  seeds 
for  the  purpose  of  classification  into  monocotyledons,  dicotyledons, 
and  polycotyledons,  and  learn  that  cotyledons  are  modified  leaves. 

4.  Study  the  practical  uses  to  man  of  the  albumen  stored  in  the 
seed. 

Buds. 
Let  the  children : 

1.  Review  as  much  as  may  seem  necessary. 

2.  Study  buds  with  respect  to  their  positions  and  arrangement. 

3.  Examine  the  rings  left  by  the  falling  of  the  bud-scales,  and 
learn  the  story  the  rings  tell. 

4.  Examine  the  buds  of  underground  stems  and  the  characteristics 
of  stems  as  distinguished  from  roots. 

5.  Study  the  relations  of  positions,  arrangement  and  development 
of  buds-  to  the  shape  or  character  of  trees.     Learn  by  a  study  of  the 
trees  themselves,  the  causes  of  the  development  and  non-development 
of  buds. 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  149 

Roots. 

1.  Study  roots  and  root  hairs  and  their  uses  to  the  plant,  and  the 
positions  and  kinds  of  roots,  as  well  as  their  various  uses  to  the  plant 
and  to  man. 

2.  Examine  the  stem  or  a  branch  of  an  ordinary  tree.     Study  the 
arrangement  and  character  of  its  different  parts,  and  their  uses  to  the 
plant  and  to  man  ;  learn  how  such  plants  grow  ;  compare  these  with 
a  corn  stalk ;  learn  how  this  stalk  grows  ;  learn  the  classification  of 
stems  into  exogenous  and  endogenous. 

3.  Study  the  relation  of  the  structure  of  the  stem  to  its  method  of 
growth  ;  of  the  number  of  cotyledons  to  the  character  and  venation  of 
the  leaves,  and  the  plan  of  the  flower. 

Leaves. 

Let  the  children : 

1.  Continue  the  study  of  function  and  arrangement,  as  suggested 
for  third  and  fourth  years. 

2.  Study  the  leaves  as  arrangements  for  directing  water  to  the 
roots,  and  try  to  discover  the  relation  between  the  arrangement  of 
branches  and  that  of  the  leaves  ;  between  the  length  of  the  leaf-stalk 
and  the  shape  of  the  leaves. 

3.  Continue  the  examination  of  the  forms  of  leaves.     Study  and 
describe  compound  leaves. 

4.  Study  the  changes  of  color  and  the  falling  of  leaves,  particularly 
in  the  autumn,  and  their  causes. 

Reproduction,  Flowers  and  Seeds. 

Let  the  children : 

1.  Review  as  much  as  may  seem  necessary. 

2.  Discover   how   the   pollen   escapes  from  the   anther.      Study 
dehiscence  of  anthers. 

3.  Discover  how  the  pollen  gets  from  anther  to  pistil.      Study 
methods  of  and  arrangements  for  fertilization  ;  the  relations  of  flowers 
and  insects,  and  the  use  to  the  plant  of  color  and  odors. 

4.  Discover  how  the  pollen  gets  into  the  ovary. 

5.  Study  the  flower  as  a  whole,  as  an  arrangement  for  producing, 
protecting,  and  disseminating  seeds. 

6.  Study  the  provisions  of  nature  for  matured  seeds.     (Much  of 
this  can  be  done  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  course  ;  it  should  be  em- 
phasized now.) 

Lead  the  children  to  discover  : 

1.  How  the  seeds  separate,  often  with  the  surrounding  parts,  from 
the  plant. 

2.  How  they  are  disseminated. 


150  NATURAL    HISTORY. 

3.  How  they  escape  from  the  ovary. 

a.  By  being  enclosed  in  fleshy,  edible  parts. 

b.  By  having  leaflike  attachments,  or  wings,  or  hairy  appendages. 

c.  By  bearing  prickles,  spines,  hooks,  etc. 

d.  By  being  so  light  as  to  be  carried  by  the  wind. 

e.  By  having  springs  or  elaters. 

4.  How  seeds  are  protected  through  the  winter. 

5.  How  the  embryo  gets  out  of  the  enclosing  coats. 

6.  What  provision  is  made  for  the  little  plant  after  it  begins  to 
develop. 

Let  them : 

7.  Study  leaves,  roots,  and  stems  in  their  relations  to  the  flower, 
as  organs  for  taking  in,  conveying,  assimilating,  and  storing  up  nour- 
ishment for  the  formation  of  flowers  and  seeds. 

8.  Study  ferns,  mosses,  liverworts,  and  horse-tails,  and  compare 
them  with  the  plants  before  studied.     Examine  those  as  well  as  mush- 
rooms, puff-balls,  lichens,  and  fungi  for  spore  cases  and  spores,  and 
discover  the  fact  that  all  are  plants,  and  that  all  produce  what  corre- 
spond to  seeds. 

Result  of  Six  Years'  Work. 

Pupils  are  self-reliant  and  independent ;  they  can  observe,  reason, 
and  express  ;  and  they  have  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  whole  plant  and 
its  life  history. 

SEVENTH  AND  EIGHTH  YEARS. 
Germination. 

Lead  pupils  to  note  the  germination  of  spores  of  mould  ;  and  study 
as  carefully  as  possible  the  spore  cases  and  spores  of  puff-balls,  mush- 
rooms, moulds,  and  other  fungi,  liverworts,  mosses,  ferns,  horse-tails, 
lichens,  lycopeds,  stone  worts,  and  fresh  and  salt-water  algae. 

Roots,  Stems,  and  Leaves. 
Let  pupils : 

1.  Study  the  forms  and  modifications  of   roots   (including  aerial 
roots)  and  stems  (including  underground  stems) ,  to  learn  their  uses 
to  the  plant  and  to  man. 

2.  Examine  the  forms  of  leaves  (scales,  cotyledons,  prickles,  ten- 
drils, pitchers,  etc.),  to  learn  their  uses  to  the  plant  and  to  man. 

3.  Study  the  movements  of  leaves,  tendrils,  and  rootlets,  and  ex, 
amine  or  read  about  climbing  plants. 

4.  Study  the  parts  and  the  plan  of  the  flowerless  plants  suggested 
above,  and  compare  them  with  the  flowering  plants  that  have  been 
studied. 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  151 

Reproduction,  Flowers  and  Fruit. 
Let  pupils  : 

1.  Review  as  much  of  the  work  of  the  previous  years  as  may  seem 
necessary. 

2.  Study  flowers  whose  floral  envelopes  are  more  or  less  grown  to- 
gether and  otherwise  modified,  and  learn  classification  into  apetalous, 
polypetalous,  and  gamopetalous. 

3.  Examine  the  clustered  flowers,  gradually  leading  to  the  study 
of  composite. 

4.  Become  familiar  with  the  characters  of  several  of  our  common, 
sharply-defined  families  of  flowering  plants. 

5.  Study  the  flowers  of  the  cone-bearing  trees,  and  learn  the  classi- 
fication into  angiosperms  and  gymnosperms. 

6.  Restudy  the  flowerless  plants  suggested  above,  and  learn  the 
classification  into  phenogams  and  cryptogams,  and  study  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  principal  divisions  of  cryptogamous  plants. 

7.  Investigate  the  movements  of  flowers  and  their  parts. 


BOTANY  FOR   COMMON   SCHOOLS. 

Laboratory  work  should  be  the  chief  feature  of  the  year's  course  in 
botany  recommended  for  secondary  schools.  No  books  should  be  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  pupil,  except  such  as  are  to  be  used  as  labora- 
tory guides  or  as  books  of  reference.  Table-room,  a  good  compound 
microscope  magnifying  from  at  least  50  to  300  diameters,  and  a  few 
ordinary  reagents  in  small  quantities  (including  at  least  alcohol,  po- 
tassic  hydrate,  glycerine,  iodine  and  other  staining  fluids),  should  be 
furnished  each  pupil.  The  work  should  consist  of  the  careful  study 
of  typical  plants,  each  selected  to  represent  a  prominent  group  of 
plants  or  an  important  phase  of  plant  development.  This  study  of 
types  should  not  become  a  study  of  isolated  and  hence  barren  facts. 
Frequent  lectures  or  talks  will  be  found  valuable  for  broadening  the 
outlook  of  pupils  and  for  leading  them  to  see  the  true  significance  of 
the  work  they  are  doing,  while  frequent  examinations  of  work  and  of 
pupils  will  be  indispensable.  Experience  has  shown  that  a  good  allot- 
ment of  the  five  weekty  periods  allowed  for  this  work  will  be  made  by 
giving  three  of  them  to  laboratory  work,  one  to  lecturing  and  one  to 
quizzing. 

The  study  of  a  plant  should  consist  of  an  examination  of  all  its 
essential  features ;  such  as  its  cell  structure ;  its  mode  of  develop- 


152  NATURAL    HISTORY. 

ment ;  its  mode  of  reproduction  ;  in  short,  as  much  of  its  life-history 
as  is  possible.  Careful  examination  of  specimens  is  secured  best  by 
careful  sketching.  Too  much  importance  cannot  be  given  to  drawing, 
as  it  is  not  only  an  excellent  device  for  securing  close  observation,  but 
it  is  also  a  rapid  method  of  making  valuable  notes.  A  very  few  ver- 
bal descriptions  may  accompan}'  the  sketches  to  make  their  meanings 
clear.  These  sketches  and  notes  should  be  made  in  a  permanent 
note-book,  for  future  use. 

Below  is  suggested  a  list  of  plants  that  will  be  serviceable  in  this 
proposed  general  survey  of  the  plant  kingdom.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  man}'  other  plants  will  do  as  well  as  those  named  ;  for  this 
reason  .the  specimens  to  be  studied  in  the  various  groups  must  be 
determined  by  the  teacher,  according  to  location  or  other  conditions. 
All  the  principal  groups  of  plants  are  well  represented  in  the  flora  of 
any  region,  with  the  exception  of  the  red  and  brown  sea-weeds. 
These  groups,  however,  should  not  be  neglected.  By  forethought 
sea- weeds  may  be  easily  provided.  Plants  may  be  preserved  in  weak 
alcohol  (35  to  50%)  ;  dried  specimens  can  be  kept  indefinitely  and 
soaked  when  wanted  for  use. 

It  is  much  more  satisfactory  and  scientific  to  begin  with  the  study 
of  the  simplest  forms  than  with  complex  forms,  not  only  because  they 
are  more  easily  understood,  but  also  because  this  order  of  study  will 
give  the  learner  some  idea  of  the  evolution  of  the  plant  kingdom  from 
simple  to  complex  forms.  It  is  believed  that  the  numerous  advan- 
tages offered  by  this  order  of  study,  advantages  which  have  been 
proved  by  much  experience,  outweigh  the  supposed  advantages  of- 
fered by  beginning  with  the  study  of  more  complex  forms. 

COURSE  OF  WORK. 

1.  The  simplest  forms  can  be  represented  by  the  green-slimes,  such 
as  species  of  Chroococcus  and  Oscillaria,  both  to  be  found  usually 
about  springs  and  in  shallow  water.      These  could  well  be  supple- 
mented by  Nostoc  and  other  forms.     It  is  not  advisable  to  attempt 
any  study  of  bacteria,  yet  they  could  be  easily  demonstrated  at  this 
point  and  their  importance  indicated. 

2.  The  green  algae  should  be  studied  by  means  of  such  forms  as 
Protococcus,  Cladophora,  CEdogonium^  Spirogyra^  Desmids,  and  Vau- 
cheria.     The   doubtful   but  very   interesting   and   common   Diatoms 
might  also  be  studied  in  this  connection.    It  would  be  a  very  remark- 
able region  in  which  all  these  forms  could  not  be  found  abundant, 
since  they  constitute  the  most  common  green  growths  in  water  and 
damp  places. 

3.  The  brown  algae  are  well  represented  by  the  common  Fucus  or 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  153 

"rock-weed,"  aud  the  il  kelps"  (Laminaria,  etc.)  which  can  be  ob- 
tained in  abundance  from  the  sea-shore. 

4.  The  red  algae,  also  to  be  obtained  from  the  sea-shore,  can  be 
studied  in  such  common  forms  as  Callithamnion,  Polysiphonia,  Chon- 
drus,  Corallina,  or  Grinnellia,  etc. 

5.  The  fungi  should  be  represented   by  such  plants  as  Muncor, 
Cystopus,  some  common  powdery  mildew  (such  as  that  found  on  lilac 
leaves),  a  cup  fungus,  a  lichen,  some  rust  (such  as  wheat-rust),   a 
puff-ball  and  a  toadstool. 

6.  Now  the  stone- worts  (  Chara  or  Nitella )   should  be  studied  if 
material  is  convenient. 

7.  The  Bryopliytes would  be  fairly  represented  by  the  study  of  a 
single  liverwort  and  a  moss. 

8.  The  Pteridopliytes  could  be  studied  in  some  ordinary  fern;   any 
greenhouse  will  furnish  a  supply  of  fern  prothalli.     If  possible,  the 
view  of   the  group  should  be  enlarged   by  the  examination  of    an 
Equisetum  or  club-moss. 

9.  The  Gymnosperms  are  well  represented  by  the  common  Pinust- 
sylvestris. 

10.  The  Phanerogams  should  be  represented  by  a  monocotyledon 
(such  as    Trillium  or   Erythronium) ,  and    a   dicotyledon  (such   as 
Capsella). 

Such  a  list  of  forms  will  give  the  student  a  very  intelligent  idea  of 
the  plant  kingdom.  It  is  possible,  in  one  year,  to  study  thoroughly 
as  many  types  as  are  here  enumerated  ;  thorough  work,  however, 
should  be  done  even  though  the  number  of  specimens  examined  should 
be  reduced.  It  will  undoubtedly  be  claimed  that  many  of  these  forms 
are  entirely  unfamiliar  to  teachers.  It  can  only  be  said  in  reply,  that 
under  such  circumstances  the  teaching  of  any  forms  could  hardly  be 
profitable,  and  that  study  for  a  single  season  at  any  one  of  the  numer- 
ous summer  schools  where  botany  is  taught  will  enable  such  teachers 
not  only  to  understand  these  forms,  but  also  to  collect  materials  with 
which  to  teach  them,  as  well  as  to  know  how  properly  to  direct 
their  use. 

As  it  is  desirable  that  t':e  year  of  work  should  be  continuous,  we 
recommend  that  it  begin  in  September  and  continue  uninterruptedly 
throughout  the  school  year.  Nearly  all  the  plants  suggested,  or 
others  that  may  be  chosen,  can  be  found  in  the  autumn  and  early 
winter  in  sufficient  numbers  and  in  good  condition  for  study.  Many 
of  these  ma}'  be  properly  preserved  for  use,  while  a  common  green- 
house, or  a  tank,  or  a  few  jars  of  water,  will  yield  a  full  supply  of 
others  needed  during  the  winter  months. 


154  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ZOOLOGY  FOR  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS. 

Several  considerations  •  have  influenced  the  arrangement  of  the 
following  scheme  of  work  in  zoology  for  secondary  schools. 

1 .  It  is  unfortunately  true  that  many  students  at  secondary  schools 
will  have  had  no  instruction,   or  but  desultoiy  instruction,  in  any 
department  of  Natural  History.     In  devising  a  plan  of  work  for  the 
secondary  schools,  such  students  must  not  be  overlooked. 

2.  It  is  incontestable  that  neither  an  elaborate  scheme  of  classifi- 
cation, nor  the  very  fine  points  that  enter  into  a  discussion  of  the 
possible  beginnings  of  things  are  easily  comprehended  by  untrained 
minds.     Hence,    both    ultimate  classfication    and    primordial   things 
must,  at  first,  be  left  out  of  consideration. 

3.  Success   in   teaching    is    sometimes  jeopardized    by   the  early 
presentation   of  disagreeable  features  of  the  subject  taught.      It  is 
desirable  to  postpone  the  consideration  of  these,  if  it  can  be  done 
without  essential  loss,  until  the  interest  of  the  student  has  been  so 
secured    as  to  induce  him  to  face  the  disagreeable  for  the  sake  of 
probable  though  distant  advantage.     Hence  everything  like  dissection 
should  be  postponed  until  the  eager  curiosity  of  the  t}TO  overcomes  a 
possible  nervous  timidity  incident  to  anatomical  investigation. 

4.  In  some  sections  of  our  country  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  materials 
which   are   wastefully   common    in   other   sections.     It  is   believed, 
however,  that,  by  the  exercise  of  a  little  forethought  and  diligence  on 
the    part   of   the   instructor,   the    materials   here    suggested    can   be 
obtained  at  slight  expense  in  any  part  of  the  United  States. 

5.  The  contemplated  work  in  zoology  is  intended  to  occupy  the 
student's   time   five   hours   per  week   for  one  year  of  forty   weeks. 
These  two  hundred  hours  work  are  to  be  employed,  one  hundred 
twenty  in  laboratory  research,  and  eighty  in  reports  on  laboratory 
and  text-book  work. 

The  work  may  begin  with  a  living  fish  for  stud}'.  The  ordinary 
carp  (gold  fish)  will  answer  an  admirable  purpose.  The  fish  should 
be  studied  in  its  entirety  as  a  living  organism  ;  its  mode  of  locomotion, 
its  body-covering  and  all  other  visible  parts,  thoroughly  familiarized. 
Subsequently,  the  pupils  should  be  provided  with  other  fishes.  As 
large  a  variety  of  fishes  as  possible  should  be  studied  for  comparison, 
Perch  are  usually  obtainable,  as  are  also  smelts  in  their  season,  and 
other  common  varieties  of  fishes,  whether  the  school  be  located  inland 
or  on  the  seaboard. 

Some  general  ideas  of  classification  may  be  here  introduced,  but 
minutiae  which  are  likely  to  produce  weariness  and  consequent 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  155 

distaste  should  be  avoided.  Close  anatomical  investigation  ma}7  well 
be  left  for  future  study.  Concerning  this  the  shrewd  teacher  will 
determine  for  himself.  He  will  not  lay  down  rules  from  which  no 
circumstance  may  swerve  him,  but  rather  will  be  guided  in  some 
respects  by  the  abilities  of  his  class,  irrespective  of  what  has  been 
done  by  previous  classes.  As  this  elementary  work  with  fishes  will 
furnish  materials  for  subsequent  constant  reference  it  should  not  be 
hurried. 

The  microscope  may  well  be  employed  in  calling  attention  to  the 
structure  of  the  scales.  No  better  subject  will  ever  be  found  for 
exciting  interest  among  young  naturalists  than  these  scales  offer  as 
exhibited  by  polarized  light.  Two  or  three  weeks  or  more,  of  time 
here  occupied  will  yield  abundant  fruitage  in  future  stud}'.  Proper 
supervision  of  notes  and  drawings  made  by  the  pupils  will  lead  them 
to  appreciate  and  acquire  the  true  method  of  making  valuable 
descriptions,  regarding  and  recording  the  essential  while  disregarding 
the  non-essential. 

It  is  believed  that  by  means  of  the  work  suggested  above  there  will 
be  aroused  in  the  pupils  an  interest  which  will  render  them 
enthusiastic  in  pursuing  a  course  of  lessons  like  the  following.  The 
preferences  of  the  teacher,  as  well  as  the  conditions  offered  by 
locality,  will  be  factors  in  determining  the  individual  species  to  be 
used  for  study  and  illustration.  The  text-book,  which  should  be  a 
brief  one,  should  be  supplemented  by  books  of  reference  to  be 
consulted  when  special  organisms  or  other  topics  are  under  discussion. 

COURSE  OF  WORK. 
The  Protozoa. 

The  study  of  these  animals  may  well  begin  with  the  Amoeba. 
Specimens  which  by  proper  forethought  may  easily  be  secured  should 
be  before  the  class.  All  the  conditions  that  enter  into  a  full  determi- 
nation of  the  position  of  the  Amoeba  as  belonging  to  the  animal 
kingdom  need  not  be  sought  by  the  class.  Reference  to  the  fish 
already  made  a  subject  of  special  study  will  aid  greatly  in  determining 
some  of  the  conditions  that  should  be  learned.  Life,  sensation, 
voluntary  motion,  use  of  oxygen,  use  of  organic  food,  protoplasm 
are  naturally  some  of  the  facts  that  must  be  seen  and  understood. 
The  question  of  calcareous  vs.  siliceous  frame-work  will  naturally  be 
postponed.  Following  a  discussion  of  the  Amoeba,  some  rhizopod,  as 
Actinophrys,  which  is  sufficiently  common,  may  well  receive  a  little 
attention.  Of  the  Infusoria,  Stentor,  Vorticella,  Paramoecium  which 
are  always  obtainable  will  excite  great  enthusiasm  in  pupils. 


156  NATURAL   HISTORY. 

The  Porifera. 

Spongilla  is  accessible  in  almost  every  locality,  while  on  the  sea- 
coast  marine  sponges  may  be  obtained. 

The  Coelenterata. 

Hydroids  maj*  be  procured  on  the  sea-coast  and  kept  dry  in 
mass.  Preserved  in  alcohol  they  make  excellent  class  specimens. 
Specimens  mounted  on  slides  for  the  microscope  will  aid  in  giving 
pupils  definite  ideas  of  the  appearance  of  the  animals  when  alive. 
When  possible,  living  specimens  should  be  provided.  The  fresh- 
water hydra  should  not  be  overlooked  ;  the  work,  at  least,  of  polyps 
is  always  obtainable. 

The  Echinodermata. 

A  supply  of  starfishes,  sea-urchins  and  crinoicls  is  indispensable. 
The  mode  of  growth  of  crinoids  as  indicated  by  fossil  remains  may 
be,  in  a  certain  sense,  paralleled  by  the  hydroids  and  Vorticellae 
already  somewhat  familiar. 

The   Vermes. 

The  earth  worm  furnishes  cheap  and  abundant  material  for  study. 
With  a  good  microscope  in  use  it  will  not  be  surprising  if  representa- 
tives of  the  Gregarinidae  are  discovered  by  the  inquisitive  student. 
The  teacher  may  thus  have  an  excellent  opportunit}r  to  impress  on 
the  minds  of  the  pupils  the  fact  that  school  work  is  at  best  but  a 
beginning,  and  that  abundant  opportunities  are  offered  for  further 
discovery. 

The  Mollusca. 

The  clam,  whether  marine  or  other,  will  here  serve  an  excellent 
purpose.  Univalves  should  receive  a  share  of  attention.  Some  ideas 
of  classification  may  be  developed  in  this  branch  with  satisfactory 
results  from  the  conchological  side,  even  with  malacology  temporarily 
disregarded.  The  development  of  gasteropods,  being  a  subject  of 
absorbing  interest,  may  well  occupy  a  small  share  of  attention. 

The  Arthropods. 

Lobsters,  edible  crabs  and  crayfish,  which  are  all  easily  obtained, 
may  be  dissected  with  little  repugnance  on  the  part  of  learners.  For 
the  study  of  minute  Crustacea,  Cyclops  and  Daphnia  are  available 
everywhere.  On  a  larger  scale  shrimps  or  sand  fleas  are  abundant, 
and  on  the  coast  the  different  stages  of  growth  of  the  common  crab 
and  living  barnacles  furnish  abundant  materials  for  study. 


NATURAL   HISTORY.  157 

Insects. 

A  special  and,  so  far  as  possible,  thorough  study  of  some  common 
species  of  grass-hopper  will  prepare  the  pupils  for  the  further  investi- 
gation of  Insects.  The  Cuverian  rather  than  the  modern  and  more 
accurate  classification  of  insects  will  be  found  of  great  practical  value. 
Representatives  of  the  Diptera,  the  Neuroptera,  the  Coleoptera,  the 
Hemiptera,  the  Lepidoptera,  and  the  Hymenoptera  may  be  made 
subjects  of  special  study,  possibly  in  the  order  named.  The  pupils 
themselves  will  easily  arrange  a  crude  classification  of  insects  as 
follows : — 

1  Coleoptera, 
Hymenoptera, 
~    , 
Orthoptera, 
Neuroptera, 
(•  Lepidoptera, 

Heteroptera, 
2.    Haustellata   •{ 

Homoptera, 

1^  Diptera. 

The  Vertebrata. 

1.  FisJi.     In  schools  away  from  the  coast  the  characteristic  features 
of  sharks  and  rays  may  well  be  enforced  by  the  use  of  alcoholic 
specimens.     Fossil  fishes  or  fragments  of  the  same,  as   teeth   and 
cales,    will   be    found    useful    here.     The   presence    of  scales,    the 
classification  of  fishes  as  homocercal  or  heterocercal,  and  the  question 
of  edibility  ma}'  well  be  discussed  together.     As  many  types  of  fishes 
as  can  easily  be  obtained  should  be  studied  for  purposes  of  classifi- 
cation.    The  local  markets  ina}r  be  drawn  upon  very  advantageousl}'. 

2.  Batrachians.     Special    studies   of   toads   and   frogs   and   such 
salamanders  as  are  procurable  will  be  of  advantage-.     Nocturus  should 
be  made  a  subject  of  special  investigation. 

3.  Reptiles.     Lizards,  snakes  and  turtles  need  attention.     By  this 
time  a  comparative  examination  of  the  circulatory  apparatus  of  the 
classes  of  vertebrates  will  furnish  opportunity  for  much  stud^y.     The 
terms,  cold-blooded  and  warm-blooded  begin  to  have  definite  signifi- 
cance now,  while  the  different  types  of  heart  suggest  reasons  for,  or 
concomitants   of,    many    other   conditions   of    life,    that  have   been 
noticed. 

4.  Birds.     The   comparison  of  vertebrate  differences  and  resem- 
blances should  continue  with  the  study  of  birds.     The  structure  of 
the  vertebrae  themselves  will  demand  considerable  attention.     The 


158  NATURAL    HISTORY. 

close  relationship  of  birds  and  reptiles  despite  their  outward  dissimi- 
larity will  at  once  suggest  itself  to  the  thoughtful  observer. 

5.  Mammals.  The  teacher  will  be  his  own  best  judge  as  to  the 
needs  of  his  class  in  the  broad  field  here  before  him.  Physiological 
models,  manikins,  etc.,  subserve  an  excellent  purpose,  if  the 
dissection  of  some  mammal,  as  a  rabbit  or  a  cat,  cannot  conveniently 
be  accomplished.  The  work  can  thus  be  made  to  furnish  valuable 
human  anatomical  information  if  not  to  culminate  in  the  study  of 
human  anatomy. 

Ideas,  before  somewhat  crude,  in  what  has  been  called  physiology, 
may  now  be  crystallized  into  permanent  and  available  shape. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  plan  here  outlined  is  only 
suggestive.  It  is  perhaps  hardly  necessary  to  repeat  that  drawings 
and  written  descriptions  should  be  constantly  required.  Close 
observation  and  accurate  expression  are  mutually  helpful. 

Withal  it  should  be  constantly  borne  in  mind  that  the  acquisition 
of  facts  is  not  the  most  important  desideratum.  Discipline, 
intellectual  growth,  and  broad  and  varied  culture  should  be  the  aims 
to  which  the  acquisition  of  special  information  will  be  properly 
subsidiary. 


PHYSIOLOGY  IN   PRIMARY  AND  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS. 

44  It  is  the  judgment  of  this  Conference  that,  while  the  principles  of 
hygiene  should  be  included  in  the  work  of  the  lower  grades,  the  study 
of  physiology  as  a  science  may  best  be  pursued  in  the  later  years  of 
the  high-school  course.  We  recommend  that  a,  daily  period  for  one 
half  year  be  devoted  in  the  high  school  to  the  study  of  anatomy, 
physiology  and  hygiene,  with  as  large  an  amount  of  practical  work  as 
is  possible." 

The  recommendations  of  the  report  upon  this  portion  of  the  work 
of  the  Conference  are  based  upon  the  following  considerations : 

The  study  of  physiology  is  in  a  great  measure  the  study  of  the 
mechanics,  the  physics,  and  the  chemistiy  of  the  living  body  ;  before 
it  can  be  pursued  profitably  the  student  should  have,  at  least,  a  fair 
elementary  knowledge  of  these  sciences  as  fundamental.  It  is  not 
possible  to  teach  it  as  a  science  to  pupils  devoid  of  such  knowledge  ; 
any  effort  to  do  so  is  apt  to  lead  either  to  the  bewilderment  of  the 
learner,  or  else  to  attempts  at  "simplification"  on  the  part  of  the 
instructor  which  convey  erroneous  ideas  unless  the  teacher  has  excep* 
tional  knowledge  and  skill. 


NATURAL    HISTORY.  159 

The  study  of  physiology  demands  as  a  prerequisite  a  certain  amount 
of  anatomical  knowledge,  and  much  of  what  is  called  physiology  in 
elementary  text-books  on  that  science  consists  of  statements  concern- 
ing the  anatomy  of  the  human  body  that  are  of  more  or  less  import- 
ance as  a  basis  for  physiological  knowledge.  It  is,  in  the  judgment 
of  this  Conference,  not  desirable  to  teach  a  great  deal  of  anatomy  to 
young  children.  Such  instruction  is  likely  to  lead,  in  some  instances 
at  least,  to  morbid  if  not  prurient  curiosity  that  is  productive  of  far 
more  evil  than  the  instruction  is  likely  to  counterbalance  with  good. 

Considerations  such  as  these  lead  to  the  conviction  expressed  in 
the  resolution  of  the  Conference  concerning  the  teaching  of  physiology 
in  the  lower  grades.  It  is  their  belief,  however,  that  simple  and 
practical  instruction  upon  the  subject  of  personal  health  and  its  care 
ma}T  with  advantage  be  given  to  young  children.  Such  instruction, 
however,  should  rather  be  given  and  received  (as  many  other  things 
concerning  conduct  must  be  received  by  young  children)  upon 
authority,  than  as  an  appeal  to  the  judgment  of  the  pupil  as  based  on 
his  physiological  knowledge. 

Instruction  in  hygiene  adapted  to  the  capacity  of  young  children 
may  be  profitably  given  on  the  subjects  of  personal  cleanliness  ;  pure 
air,  and  the  relation  of  the  carriage  of  the  body  to  healthy  respiration  ; 
wholesome  foods,  and  moderateness  and  regularity  in  their  use ; 
regular  arid  sufficient  sleep  ;  regularity  in  other  bodily  habits  ;  care  as 
to  temperature,  and  prudence  concerning  exposure  ;  and  abstinence 
from  narcotics  and  stimulants,  and  from  drugs  generally. 

Where  instruction  in  physiology  and  hygiene  is  required  in  the 
primary  grades  by  the  law  of  the  state,  it  may  be  preceded  by  a 
simple  account  of  the  structure  of  the  body.  It  should  include  brief 
and  elementary  discussions  of  the  principal  groups  of  functions ;  and 
should  lay  greatest  stress,  as  is  the  intent  of  the  law  in  most  cases, 
upon  such  simple  precepts  of  hygiene  as  may  be  clearly  understood 
and  practiced  by  the  child. 

What  has  already  been  said  concerning  the  study  of  physiology  as 
a  science,  will,  if  accepted,  justify  the  opinion  expressed  by  the  Con- 
ference that  such  study  may  best  be  pursued  in  the  later  years  of  the 
high-school  course.  It  should  follow  rather  than  precede  the  portion 
of  the  course  devoted  to  physics  and  chemistry,  as  well  as  such  other 
biological  study  as  the  course  provides  for. 

While  physiology  is  one  of  the  biological  sciences,  it  should  be 
clearly  recognized  that  it  is  not,  like  botany  or  zoology,  a  science  of 
observation  and  description ;  but  rather,  like  physics  or  chemistry,  a 
science  of  experiment.  While  the  amount  of  experimental  instruc- 
tion (not  involving  vivi-section  or  experiment  otherwise  unsuitable) 


160  NATURAL    HISTORY. 

that  may  with  propriety  be  given  in  the  high  school  is  neither  small 
nor  unimportant,  the  limitations  to  such  experimental  teaching,  both 
as  to  kind  and  as  to  amount,  are  plainly  indicated.  For  this  reason 
the  study  of  physiology  as  a  component  of  the  high-school  course 
should  be  regarded  as  of  importance  rather  as  an  informational  than 
as  a  disciplinary  subject,  and  should  be  taught  largely  with  reference 
to  its  practical  relations  to  personal  and  public  hygiene. 

It  should  be  preceded  by  a  brief  study  of  the  general  plan  of  the 
body.  As  each  group  of  functions  is  taken  up,  the  organs  involved 
should  be  specially  studied  both  as  to  their  anatomy  and  their  histol- 
ogy. Anatomical  demonstrations  should  be  made  whenever  possible 
upon  fresh  material  from  the  bodies  of  domestic  animals  ;  where  fresh 
material  cannot  be  obtained,  permanent  alcoholic  preparations  prop- 
erly dissected  may  be  shown  ;  models  and  engravings  of  the  organs  of 
the  human  body  may,  with  advantage,  be  exhibited  in  connection  with 
demonstrations  of  the  same  organs,  from  the  bodies  of  the  lower  ani- 
mals most  available  for  comparison  ;  but  dependence  should  never  be 
placed  entirely  on  such  artificial  representation,  if  original  specimens 
can  be  obtained.  All  anatomical  teaching  in  this  connection  should 
keep  clearly  in  view  the  physiological  knowledge  to  which  it  is  sub- 
servient ;  attention  should  be  directed  to  the  structural  features  of 
greatest  importance  in  this  respect ;  and  facts  of  purely  morphological 
significance  should  be  disregarded,  whenever  attention  to  them  would 
distract  the  mind  of  the  pupil  from  the  study  of  the  relation  of  struct- 
ure to  function. 

Demonstrations  of  the  histological  structure  of  the  various  organs 
of  the  body  require  the  use  of  a  good  microscope,  with  powers  to 
four  or  five  hundred  diameters.  A  set  of  thirty  or  forty  permanent 
preparations  may  be  provided,  which  will  suffice  to  show  all  that  is 
most  important,  but  it  will  add  greatly  to  the  interest  of  the  student 
and  to  the  reality  of  the  knowledge  obtained,  if  the  teacher  is  able  to 
make  a  portion,  at  least,  of  such  preparations  in  the  presence  of  the 
class.  If  the  possession  of  a  number  of  microscopes  renders  it  possi- 
ble, it  is  very  desirable  that  an  opportunity  be  afforded  students  for 
making  for  themselves  preparations  of,  at  least,  the  simple  structural 
elements  that  may  be  dissociated  by  teasing  or  other  methods,  as 
well  as  of  sections  and  other  complex  preparations  which  the  school 
equipment  will  permit.  Such  practical  exercises  in  histology  may 
properly  accompany  the  anatomical  dissections  that  students  should 
be,  as  far  as  possible,  encouraged  to  make  for  themselves. 

The  obvious  limitations  to  experimental  work  in  physiology  in  the 
high  school,  already  referred  to,  make  it  necessary  for  the  student  to 
acquire  much  of  the  desired  knowledge  from  the  text-book  only. 


NATURAL   HISTORY.  161 

Nevertheless,  much  may  be  done  by  a  thoughtful  and  ingenious 
teacher  to  make  such  knowledge  real,  by  the  aid  of  suitable  practical 
exercises  and  demonstrations.  Space  will  not  permit  a  detailed  state- 
ment in  this  report,  of  the  various  ways  in  which  this  may  be  accom- 
plished, but  a  few  typical  instances  may  be  cited,  such  as  artificial 
salivary  and  peptic  digestion  ;  the  study  of  arterial  circulation,  as 
illustrated  by  the  movement  of  a  rhythmically  impelled  fluid  in  elastic 
tubing  toward  a  variable  resistance  ;  the  working  of  a  model  of  the 
respiratory  mechanism,  and  the  illustration  of  the  optics  of  normal 
(and  abnormal)  vision,  by  means  of  a  properly  constructed  schematic 
e}'e.  As  excellent  examples  of  direct  physiological  experiment,  at 
once  practicable  and  valuable,  may  be  mentioned  the  experimental 
studjr  of  the  sensations  and  their  illusions,  notably  the  tactile  and  the 
visual. 

The  instruction  in  hygiene  for  the  high-school  course  may,  in  addi- 
tion to  a  fuller  discussion  of  the  subjects  cited  in  a  previous  portion 
of  this  report,  discuss  matters  advantageously  which  concern  the 
adult,  though  beyond  the  control  of  the  child ;  as  examples,  may  be 
mentioned  the  subjects  of  dietetics ;  of  heating  and  ventilating ;  of 
water  supply  and  drainage.  Such  instruction  should  now  include  a 
consideration  of  the  reasons  which  underlie  the  rules  of  hygiene,  and 
the  student  should  be  encouraged  and  guided  in  efforts  to  make 
practical  application,  in  this  respect,  of  the  knowledge  which  he  has 
acquired  by  the  study  of  physiology. 

Finally,  attention  should  be  called  to  the  fact  that,  while  it  is  true 
of  the  sciences  generally,  it  is  eminently  true  of  physiology,  that  it  is 
vain  to  expect  good  results  in  the  classroom  unless  the  subject  is 
taught  by  well-trained  teachers.  No  person  should  be  regarded  as 
qualified  to  teach  physiology  in  a  high  school,  whose  preparation  has 
not  been  at  least  as  thorough  as  that  of  his  fellow-teachers  in  mathe- 
matics or  the  languages. 
11 


HISTORY,    CIVIL    GOVERNMENT,    AND    POLITICAL 

ECONOMY. 

To  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TEN: 

PRESIDENT  CHARLES  W.  ELIOT,  Chairman:  — 
Dear  Sir,  —  Herewith  we  respectfully  submit  the  resolutions 
reached  by  the  Conference  held  at  Madison,  "Wisconsin,  Dec.  28-30, 
1892,  to  consider  the  teaching  of  History,  Civil  Government,  and 
Political  Economy  in  the  schools ;  together  with  an  explanatory 
report.  In  an  appendix  will  be  found  brief  categorical  answers  to 
your  specific  questions. 

I.    RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE  CONFERENCE. 
Time  to  be  occupied. 

1.  Resolved,  That  history  and  kindred   subjects   ought   to   be  a 
substantial   study   in   the   schools  in  each   of  at  least  eight  years. 
[Report,  §§  7-9,  16.] 

Subjects. 

2.  Resolved,  That  American  history  be  included  in  the  program. 
[Resolutions  14,  16  ;  Report,  §§12-14,   16,  17.] 

3.  Resolved,  That  English   history  be  included  in  the  program. 
[Resolutions  14,  16;  Report,  §§12-14,  16,  17.] 

4.  Resolved,  That  Greek  and  Roman  history,  with  their  Oriental 
connections,  be  included  in  the  program.   [Resolutions  14,  16  ;  Report, 
§§12-14,  16,  17.] 

5.  Resolved,   That  French  history  be  included  in   the   program. 
[Resolution  14;  Report,  §§  12-14,   16.] 

6.  Resolved,  That  one  year  of  the  course  be  devoted  to  the  inten- 
sive study  of  history.     [Resolution  14  ;  Report,  §§  15,  16.] 

7.  Resolved,  That  the  year  of  intensive  study  be  devoted  to  the 
careful  study  of  some  special  period,  as  for  example  the  struggle  of 
France  and  England  for  North  America,  the  Renaissance,  etc.    [Re' 
port,  §§14-16,  33.] 

8.  Resolved,  That  a  list  of  suitable  topics  for  the  special  period  be 
drawn  up  as  a  suggestion  to  teachers.     [Report,  §§  14-16.] 

0.  Resolved,  That  formal  instruction  in  political  economy  be 
o:nitted  from  the  school  program ;  but  that  economic  subjects  be 
treated  in  connection  with  other  pertinent  subjects.  [Resolution  30  ; 
Report,  §  19.] 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       163 

10.  Resolved,  That  to  American  history  in  the  first  group  of  studies 
be  added  the  elements   of  civil  government.      [Resolutions  28,  29  ; 
Report,  §§1G,  18.] 

Programs. 

11.  Resolved,  That  the  eight-year  course  be  consecutive.     [Resolu- 
tion 14;  Report,  §§  10,  16.] 

12.  Resolved,  That  the  first  three  years   of  study  be  devoted  to 
•nythology  and  biography  based  on  general  history  and  on  American 

history.      [Resolution  14;  Report,  §§  16,  30.] 

13.  Resolved,    That   the  point  at  which  the  program  should  be 
divided  into  two  groups  be  fixed  at  the  beginning  of  the  high  school 
course.      [Resolutions  14,  16;  Report,  §§6,  10.] 

14.  Resolved,  That  the  Conference  adopt  the  following  as  the  pro- 
gram for  a  proper  historical  course.     [Report,  §§10,  13,  14,  16.] 

1st  year.     Biography  and  mythology. 

2d  year.      Biography  and  mythology. 

3d  year.  American  history  ;  and  elements  of  civil  govern- 
ment. 

4th  year.  Greek  and  Roman  history,  with  their  Oriental  con- 
nections. 

[At  this  point  the  pupil  would  naturally  enter  the  high  school.] 

5th  year.    French  history.     (To  be  so  taught  as  to  elucidate 

the  general  movement  of  mediaeval  and  modern 

history.) 
6th  year.    English  history.      (To  be  so  taught  as  to  elucidate 

the  general  movement  of  mediaeval  and  modern 

histoiy.) 

7th  year.    American  history. 
8th  year.    A  special  period,  studied  in  an  intensive  manner ; 

and  civil  government. 

15.  Resolved,  That  the  Conference  frame  an  alternative  six-year 
program.      [Report,  §  17.] 

16.  Resolved,  That  the  following   program   be   recommended    for 
schools  which  are  not  able  to  adopt  the  longer  program.     [Report , 

§17.] 

1st  year.     Biography  and  mythology. 
2d  year.      Biography  and  mythology. 

[In  the  intervening  year  or  years,  if  any,  historical  reading  should  be  pursued 
as  a  part  of  language  study.] 

3d  year.      American  history,  and  civil  government. 

[At  this  point  the  pupil  would  naturally  enter  the  high  school.] 

4th  year.  Greek  and  Roman  history,  with  their  Oriental  con- 
nections. 


164      HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

5th  year.  English  history.  (To  be  so  taught  as  to  elucidate 
the  general  movement  of  mediaeval  and  modern 
history.) 

6th  year.    American  history  and  civil  government. 

17.  Resolved,    That   in  no  year  of  either  course  ought  the  time 
devoted  to  these  subjects  to   be  less  than  the  equivalent  of  three 
forty-minute   periods   per    week    throughout    the    year.       [Report, 
§§7-9.]  ft 

Methods  in  History. 

18.  Resolved,  That  it  is  desirable  that  in  all  schools  history  should 
be  taught  by  teachers  who  not  only  have  a  fondness  for  historical 
study  but  who  also  have  paid  special  attention  to  effective  methods 
of  imparting  instruction.     [Report,  §§  25,  26.] 

19.  Resolved,  That  in  the  first  two  years  oral  instruction  in  biog- 
raphy and  mythology  should  be  supplemented  by  the  reading  of  simple 
biographies  and  mythological  stories.     [Report,  §§  16,  17,  30.] 

20.  Resolved,  That  after  the  first  two  years  a  suitable  text-book  or 
text-books  should  be  used,  but  onl}'  as  a  basis  of  fact  and  sequence 
of  events,  to  be  supplemented  by  other  methods.  [Report,  §§  27-29.] 

21.  Resolved,  That  pupils  should  be  required  to  read  or  learn  one 
other  account  besides  that  of  the  text-book,  on  each  lesson.    [Report, 
§§27-29.] 

22.  Resolved,   That  the  method  of  study  by  topics  be  strongly 
recommended,  as  tending  to  stimulate  pupils  and  to  encourage  inde- 
pendence of  judgment.     [Report,  §  33.] 

23.  Resolved,  That  the  teaching  of  history  should  be  intimately 
connected   with   the   teaching   of  English  :  first,  by  using  historical 
works  or  extracts  for  reading  in  schools  ;  second,  by  the  writing  of 
English  compositions  on  subjects  drawn  from  the  historical  lessons ; 
third,  by  committing  to  memory   historical   poems  and  other  short 
pieces ;    fourth,    by   reading    historical    sketches,    biographies   and 
novels,  outside  of  class  work.     [Report,  §§  oO-34.] 

24.  Resolved,  That,  so  far  as  practicable,  pupils  should  be  encour- 
aged to  avail  themselves  of  their  knowledge  of  ancient  and  modern 
languages,  in  their  study  of  history^-  [Report,  §§30,  32,  34.] 

25.  Resolved,   That  the   study  of  history   should   be   constantly 
associated  with  the  study  of  topography  and  political  geography,  and 
should  be  supplemented  by  the  study  of  historical  and  commercial 
geography,  and  the  drawing  of  historical  maps.     [Report,  §  35.] 

26.  Resolved,  That  in  all  practicable  ways  an  effort  should  be 
made  to  teach  the  pupils  in  the  later  years  to  discriminate  between 
authorities,  and  especially  between  original   sources  and  secondary 
works.     [Report,  §§  15,  33.] 


V 

HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       165 

27.  Resolved,  That  a  collection  of  reference  books,  as  large  as  the 
means  of  the  school  allow,  should  be  provided  for  every  school,  suita- 
ble for  use  in  connection   with  all  the  historical  work  done  in  that 
school.     [Report,  §§23,  24,  30,  31.] 

Civil  Government  and  Political  Economy. 

28.  Resolved,    That   civil   government   in    the   grammar    schools 
should  be  taught  by  oral  lessons,  with  the  use  of  collateral  text-books, 
and  in  connection  with  United  States  history  and  local  geography. 
[Report,  §  18.] 

29.  Resolved,  That  civil  government  in  the  high  schools  should  be 
taught  by  using  a  text-book  as  a  basis,  with  collateral  reading  and 
topical  work,  and  observation  and  instruction  in  the  government  of 
the  city,  or  town,  and  State  in  which  the  pupils  live,  and  .with  com- 
parisons  between   American   and   foreign   systems   of  government. 
[Report,  §  18.] 

30.  Resolved,  That  no  formal  instruction  in  political  economy  be 
given  in  the  secondary  schools,  but  that,  in  connection  particularly 
with  United  States  history,  civil  government,  and  commercial  geog- 
raphy, instruction  be  given  in  those  economic  topics,  a  knowledge  ol 
which  is  essential  to    the    understanding  of  our  economic  life  and 
development.     [Resolution  9  ;  Report,  §  19.] 

Relations  with  Colleges. 

31.  Resolved,  That  the  instruction  in  history  and  related  subject* 
ought  to  be  precisely  the  same  for  pupils  on  their  way  to  college  or  th^ 
scientific  school,  as  for  those  who  expect  to  stop  at  the  end  of  the 
grammar  school,  or  at  the  end  of  the  high  school.     [Report,  §§  2, 11.] 

32.  Resolved,    That  the  examinations  in  history  for   entrance  to 
college  ougli't  to  be  so  framed  as  to  require  comparison  and  the  use 
of  judgment  on  the  pupil's  part,  rather  than  the  mere  use  of  memory. 
[Report,  §§20,  21.] 

33.  Resolved,  That  satisfactory  written  work  done  in  the  prepara- 
tory  school   ought  to   be   accepted   as  a  considerable   part  of   the 
evidence  of  proficiency  required  by  the  college.     [Report,  §21.] 

34.  Resolved,  That,  where  a  division  is  permitted,  the  entrance 
examinations  in  history  ought  usually  to  be  a  part  of  the  final  exami- 
nations for  college  rather  than  of  the  preliminary  examination.     [Re~ 

port,  §  22.] 

Resolution  of  Thanks. 

35.  Resolved,   That   the   Conference   extend    its   thanks    to   the 
University  of  Wisconsin  and  citizens  of  Madison  for  their  gracious 
hospitality.     [Report,  §  1.] 


166       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

JI.    PRELIMINARY. 
i.    Basis  of  the  Discussion  in  the  Conference. 

By  the  politeness  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  and  of  the 
citizens  of  Madison,  your  Conference  was  invited  to  hold  its  sessions 
in  that  city.  The  convenient  rooms  of  the  Seminary  of  Political 
Science  were  placed  at  oar  disposal,  and  the  cjurtesy  and  hospitality 
of  the  people  of  the  city  did  much  to  make  our  stay  agreeable  and 
to  facilitate  the  work.  We  held  two  prolonged  sessions  on  each 
of  three  days.  At  the  first  session  steps  were  taken  to  prepare  a 
program,  and  on  the  adjournment  of  the  sixth  session  all  the  subjects 
of  that  program  had  been  examined  and  our  conclusions  formulated 
in  definite  resolutions.  It  was  our  effort  to  examine  the  ground 
thoroughly,  to  find  out  what  was  being  done  by  the  schools  on  the 
subjects  assigned,  and  to  suggest  an  harmonious  and  comprehensive 
scheme  of  historical  study. 

Of  the  ten  members  one  was  a  college  president ;  one  the  principal 
of  an  academy  including  primary  as  well  as  secondaiy  grades  ;  two 
were  high  school  principals ;  and  six  were  college  professors  of 
history,  civil  government,  or  political  economy.  Several  members 
had  had  experience  in  other  grades  of  schools,  as  teachers,  superin- 
tendents, or  members  of  school  governing  boards.  The  Conference 
was  further  materially  assisted  b}'  the  advice  of  Professors  Frederick 
J.  Turner  and  Charles  H.  Haskins  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin, 
and  of  Mr.  Wells,  State  Superintendent  of  Education  for  Wisconsin. 
At  least  twelve  states  in  the  Union,  extending  from  Maine  to 
Virginia,  and  west  as  far  as  Iowa,  were  represented  by  men  who 
had  lived  in  them,  and  who  knew  something  of  their  system  of 
schools. 

Without  assuming  to  speak  for  the  great  body  of  teachers  of 
history  and  kindred  branches  throughout  the  Union,  we  believe  that 
we  are  acquainted  with,  and  fully  represent,  the  opinions  of  many 
thoughtful  individuals  in  widely  distributed  parts  of  the  country. 

It  may  be  further  stated  that  upon  each  of  the  thirty-five  resolu- 
tions which  were  framed,  the  Conference  voted  unanimously.  This 
does  not  mean  that,  for  the  sake  of  harmon^y,  members  withdrew 
strongly-felt  opposition  to  some  of  the  resolutions  ;  but  that  in  each 
vote,  as  finally  formulated,  every  member  of  the  Conference  heartily 
concurred. 

Besides  their  natural  desire  to  see  the  instruction  in  their  favorite 
study  improved,  it  is  the  mature  conviction  of  the  members  of  the 
Conference,  as  teachers,  that  the  subjects  in  question,  especially  when 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       167 

taught  by  the  newer  methods  herein  advocated,  serve  to  broaden  and 
cultivate  the  mind ;  that  they  counteract  a  narrow  and  provincial 
spirit ;  that  they  prepare  the  pupil  in  an  eminent  degree  for  enlight- 
ened and  intellectual  enjoyment  in  after  years  ;  and  that  they  assist 
him  to  exercise  a  salutary  influence  upon  the  affairs  of  his  country. 
Hence  it  is  the  especial  desire  of  the  Conference  to  see  these 
advantages  as  widely  diffused  as  possible. 

2.    Fundamental  Questions, 

Four  fundamental  questions  confronted  the  members  of  the  Con- 
ference upon  assembling.  They  were  :  how  Jar  they  should  make 
recoinmendations  which  could  be  applied  only  in  favored  parts  of  the 
country  ;  whether  they  should  recommend  an  ideal^  program,  or_a 
simpler  program  practicable  in  good  schools  with  their  present 
means  and  apparatus  ;  how  far  they  should  insist  on  a  uniform  pro- 
gram ;  and  what  relations  they  should  suggest  between  the  schools 
and  the  colleges. 

On  the  first  point  we  agreed  that  the  recommendations  should  be 
the  same  for  all.  (§  10.)  Upon  the  second  point,  the  recommenda- 
tion of  an  ideal  program,  the  Conference  was  unanimously  of  the 
opinion  that  it  would  suggest  nothing  that  was  not  already  being  done 
by  some  good  schools,  and  that  might  not  reasonably  be  attained 
wherever  there  is  an  efficient  system  of  graded  schools.  (§9.) 

Upon  the  third  question  we  especially  trust  that  we  may  not  be 
misunderstood.  It  would  not  be  our  purpose,  if  we  had  the  power,  to 
reduce  the  teaching  of  history  to  one  uniform  program  carried  out  on 
a  uniform  method.  We  believe  that  the  time  devoted  to  history  and 
allied  subjects  should  be  increased  ;  that  the  subjects  treated  should 
not  be  confined  to  our  own  couutrj' ;  and  that  the  dry  and  lifeless 
system  of  instruction  by  text-book  should  give  way  to  a  more 
rational  kind  of  work ;  but  our  recommendations  will  have  little 
effect  unless  they  are  carried  out  in  an  intelligent  and  discriminating 
spirit,  which  will  alter  the  details  according  to  local  necessities  and 
difficulties. 

As  to  the  fourth  question,  we  believe  that  the  colleges  can  tal 
care  of  themselves ;  our  interest  is  in  the  school  children  who  have 
no  expectation  of  going  to  college,  the  larger  number  of  whom  will 
not  enter  even  a  high  school.  This  feeling  is  strengthened  by  the 
consideration  that  proportionally  a  much  smaller  number  of  the  girls 
go  to  college  than  of  the  boys,  and  it  is  important  that  both  sexes 
shall  be  well  grounded  on  these  subjects.  An  additional  responsi- 
bility is  thrown  upon  the  American  system  of  education  by  the  great 
number  of  children  of  foreigners,  children  who  must  depend  on  the 


1()8       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

schools  for  their  notions  of  American  institutions,  or  of  anything 
outside  their  contracted  circle.  Hence  our  recommendations  are 
in  no  way  directed  to  building  up  the  colleges,  increasing  the 
number  of  college  students,  or  taking  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
colleges  the  historical  work  which  they  are  especially  fitted  to  do. 
(§§  10,  11,  20-22.) 

3.   Usual  Objects  of  Historical  and  kindred  Studies. 

At  the  outset  a  clear  statement  of  the  objects  of  historical  training 
is  necessary.  The  result  which  is  popularly  supposed  to  be  gained 
from  history,  and  which  most  teachers  aim  to  reach,  is  the  acquire- 
ment of  a  body  of  useful  facts.  In  our  judgment  this  is  in  itself  the 
most  difficult  and  the  least  important  outcome  of  historical  study. 
Facts  of  themselves  are  hard  to  learn,  even  when  supported  by 
artificial  systems  of  memorizing,  and  the  value  of  detached  historical 
facts  is  small  in  proportion  to  the  effort  necessary  to  acquire  and 
retain  them.  When  the  facts  are  chosen  with  as  little  discrimination 
as  in  many  school  text-books,  when  they  are  mere  lists  of  lifeless 
dates,  details  of  military  movements,  or  unexplained  genealogies, 
they  are  repellant.  To  know  them  is  hardly  better  worth  while  than 
to  remember,  as  a  curious  character  in  Ohio  was  able  to  do  some 
years  ago,  what  one  has  had  for  dinner  every  day  for  the  last  thirty 
years.  It  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized  that  facts  in  history 
are  like  digits  in  arithmetic ;  they  are  learned  only  as  a  means  to  an 

end. 

4.  Training  of  the  Mind. 

The  principal  end  of  all  education  is  training.  In  this  respect 
history  has  a  value  different  from,  but  in  no  way  inferior  to,  that  of 
language,  mathematics,  and  science.  The  mind  is  chiefly  developed 
in  three  ways  :  by  cultivating  the  powers  of  'discriminating  observa- 
tion ;  by  Strengthening  the  logical  faculty  of  following  an  argument 
from  point  to  point;  and  by  improving  the^process  of  comparison, 
that  is,  the  judgment. 

As  studies  in  language  and  in  the  natural  sciences  are  best  adapted 
to  cultivate  the  habits  of  observation  ;  as  mathematics  are  the  tradi- 
tional training  of  the  reasoning  faculties  :  so  history  and  its  allied 
branches  are  better  adapted  than  any  other  studies  to  promote^', he 
invaluable  mental  power  which  we  call  the  judgment.  Hence  states- 
men have  usually  been  careful  students  of  history.  History  is 
a  subject  unequalled  for  its  opportunities  of  comparison,  for  it  is  pre- 
eminently a  study  of  the  relation  between  cause  and  effect.  History 
combines  the  advantages  of  a  philosophical  and  a  scientific  subject : 
upon  the  one  side,  it  is  a  study  of  the  human  mind,  of  character,  and 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       169 

motives ;  upon  the  other  hand,  historical  records  form  a  body  of 
material  which,  in  the  demand  its  analysis  makes  upon  the  mind, 
may  be  compared  with  that  of  chemistry  or  geology.  Indeed  it  has 
some  practical  advantages  over  science ;  for  the  examples  in  a 
geological  or  mi::eralogical  museum  fill  many  shelves,  while  in  his- 
tory the}'  may  be  brought  within  the  covers  of  a  few  books.  The 
value  of  history  is  increased  if  it  is  looked  upon  in  part  as  a  labor- 
atory science,  in  which  pupils  learn  to  assemble  material  and  from  it 
to  make  generalizations.  (§§  31-33.) 

"  Since  grappling  witli  history  is  grappling  with  life,"  says  an  able 
teacher,  "  the  main  aim  in  teaching  history  is  to  develop  those  powers 
in  the  pupil  which  will  best  serve  him  in  life.'*  In  almost  every 
other  subject  taught  in  the  grammar  schools  the  basis  of  knowledge 
is  fixed  ;  the  child  meets  axioms  in  mathematics,  and  takes  in  his 
reading  and  geography  without  reasoning  upon  them  ;  history  prop- 
erly taught  offers  the  first  opportunity  for  a  growth  of  discriminative 
judgment ;  it  should  train  the  pupil  to  throw  away  the  unimportant 
or  unessential,  and  to  select  the  paramount  and  cogent.  It  may  be 
so  taught,  also,  as  to  lead  him  in  some  degree  to  compare  and  weigh 
evidence  ;  that  is,  through  history  a  child  should  be  taught  to  exercise 
those  qualities  of  common-sense  comparison,  and  plain,  everyday  judg- 
ment which  he  needs  for  the  conduct  of  his  own  life.  Historical 
material  is  as  abundant  and  familiar  as  geological ;  books,  or  at  least 
newspapers,  are  to  be  found  in  every  home  ;  and  the  methods  of  his- 
torical criticism  may  be  applied  constantly  to  the  news  or  gossip  of 

the  household. 

5.   Other  Advantages. 

History  has  long  been  commended  as  a  part  of  the  education  of  a 
good  citizen.  Locke  said :  u  History  is  the  great  mistress  of  pru- 
dence and  national  knowledge."  Milton  said  that  children  ought  all 
to  know  the  beginning,  the  end,  and  reasons  of  political  societies. 
"  History,"  says  Bacon,  "  supplies  examples."  "  Histor}-,"  says  an 
English  writer,  "  furnishes  the  best  training  in  patriotism,  and  it 
enlarges  the  sympathies  and  interests."  This  is  particularly  the  case 
with  the  history  of  one's  o-vn  country,  and  America  needs  the  traiiv 
ing  because  we  Americans  know  that  our  country  is  great,  better  than 
we  know  why  it  is  great. 

A  significant  advantage  of  history  is  that,  intelligently  taught,  it 
maybe  a  medium  for  the  literary  expression  of  the  pupils  (§32). 
Where  but  in  a  school  in  which  history  is  well  considered,  could  one 
hear  a  child  sum  up  her  judgment  of  the  character  of  the  English 
race  in  so  cogent  a  phrase  as  this:  "The  English  have  such  a 
sticking  quality  "  ?  History  is  the  source  of  a  great  number  of  con- 


170       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

Ventional  metaphors  and  allusions.  Eveiy  intelligent  child  knows 
what  is  meant  by  crossing  the  Rubicon,  by  meeting-  a  Waterloo,  by 
ringing  out  like  a  liberty  bell.  History  abounds  in  literary  material. 

Another  very  important  object  of  historical  teaching  is  moral  train- 
ing. History  is  the  study  of  human  character.  "  Perhaps  the  most 
valuable  part  of  our  work"  says  a  teacher,  "  is  that  we  are  all  made 
—  teacher  as  well  as  pupil  —  to  learn  personal  lessons  from  history,  to 
watch  the  course  of  humanity  as  we  would  that  of  an  individual,  to 
shun  its  errors,  and  make  use  of  its  excellencies  "  ;  and  it  is  a  study 
in  which  the  mistakes  and  failures  of  national  life,  like  those  of  priv- 
ate life,  become  suggestive  warnings. 

To  sum  up,  one  object  of  historical  study  is  the  acquirement  of 
useful  facts  ;  but  the  chjef  object  is  the  training  of  the  judgment, 
in  selecting  the  grounds  of  an  opinion,  in  accumulating  materials  for 
an  opinion,  in  putting  things  together,  in  generalizing  upon  facts, 
in  estimating  character,  in  applying  the  lessons  of  history  to  current 
events,  and  in  accustoming  children  to  state  their  conclusions  in  their 
own  words. 

III.    ARRANGEMENT  OF  STUDIES. 
6.   Time  to  begin  historical  and  kindred  Studies. 

With  these  general  objects  in  view,  your  Conference  has  attempted 
to  settle  how  much  time  may  reasonably  be  devoted  to  the  subjects 
which  it  has  been  asked  to  discuss.  First  of  all  comes  the  prelim- 
inary question,  at  what  time  may  children  profitably  begin  to  study 
history?  Upon  this  subject  there  seems  to  be  a  general  concurrence 
of  opinion  among  the  persons  whom  we  have  consulted.  An  interest 
in  the  stories  and  adventures  in  which  history  abounds  may  be  culti- 
vated as  soon  as  children  begin  to  read  at  all.  On  the  question 
where  the  formal  and  systematic  study  of  history  is  to  be  begm,  there 
is  more  divergence  ;  two  of  the  most  eminent  New  England  superin- 
tendents say,  at  ten  years  ;  others  would  begin  at  about  twelve.  In 
the  opinion  of  your  Conference  children  from  nine  to  eleven  may  well 
begin  b}7  reading  historical  selections  from  standard  authors,  and  the 
careful  study  of  history  ought  not  to  be  dela}red  beyond  the  eleventh, 
or  at  the  latest,  the  twelfth  year ;  our  recommendations  (Resolutions 
12,  14)  provide  for  at  least  two  years  of  methodical  study  of  history 
in  the  grammar  school. 

7.  Question  of  consecutive  Study. 

Next  comes  the  question,  over  how  many  .years  ought  the  study  of 
history  to  be  distributed?  At  present  the  average  seems  to  be  one 
year  in  the  grammar  schools,  and  two  years  in  the  high  schools.  A 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.        171 

few  cases  have  been  found  in  which  history  is  systematically  taught 
in  each  of  four  or  five  years  of  a  high  school  course. 

The  inquiry  involves  the  question  of  consecutive  stud}'.  Shall  we 
recommend  a  course  in  which  the  instruction  shall  be  massed  in  a  few 
years,  a  considerable  number  of  recitation  periods  being  appropriated 
in  each  ;  or  shall  we  recommend  that  the  study  be  pursued  in  a  few 
exercises  through  a  long  succession  of  }Tears?  The  German  plan  of 
education  certainly  turns  out  boys  who  are  acquainted  with  details  of 
history,  and  are  able  to  make  generalizations  ;  that  system  calls  for 
recitations  in  histor}'  and  geography  twice  a  week  during  the  first  two 
years,  and  three  times  a  week  during  the  following  eight  years  of  the 
course.  The  Germans  believe,  as  the  result  of  careful  thought  and 
observation,  that  the  system  of  short  courses  with  man}*  exercises  is 
pernicious  ;  they  find  that  the  student  educated  in  this  way  acquires  a 
temporary  interest  only ;  and  that  the  knowledge  obtained,  even 
though  at  the  moment  it  may  be  more  thoroughly  comprehended,  and 
may  make  a  more  vivid  impression  on  the  mind,  is  not  so  assimilated 
and  made  a  part  of  the  intellectual  bone  and  sinew  of  the  future  man, 
as  it  is  when,  even  once  or  twice  a  week,  the  subject  is  continued 
through  a  considerable  number  of  years.  In  American  schools  the 
tendenc}'  is  to  compress  the  subject  into  a  short  period.  The  result  is 
that  histoiy  and  kindred  subjects  assume  an  entirely  different  position 
in  the  minds  of  pupils,  from  that  of  studies  continuously  pursued. 
They  get  a  notion  that  history  ends  and  then  begins  again  ;  the 
histories  of  different  countries  seem  to  them  disconnected ;  and  the 
value  of  historical  training  is  almost  lost  by  interruption  and  want 
of  practice.  We  strenuously  recommend,  therefore,  (Resolution  1) 
that  "Histoiy  and  kindred  subjects  ought  to  be  a  substantial  study 
in  each  of  at  least  jsight^years  "  ;  and  (Resolution  11)  that  "The 
eight-year' course  be  consecutive. " 

8.   Time  now  devoted  to  the  Subjects. 

In  this,  as  in  all  these  recommendations,  it  is  not  our  purpose  to 
lay  down  a  hard  and  fast  system  for  all  schools  under  all  conditions  ; 
but  we  do  consider  it  essential  that  history  be  made  a  substantial  sub- 
ject for  a  fair  number  of  hours  during  a  considerable  number  of  years. 
The  actual  time  now  devoted  to  these  subjects  is  in  most  schools  less 
than  the  importance  of  the  subject  demands.  The  smallest  allowance 
observed  in  an}T  school  which  pretends  to  teach  history  is  twice  a 
week  for  a  term  of  twelve  weeks.  A  very  common  allowance  is  once 
a  week  for  a  year  in  Ancient  History,  —  manifestly  a  cram  for 
entrance  to  college.  A  study  of  the  reports  of  four  hundred  students, 
seems  to  show  that  two  hundred  recitation  periods,  or  five  periods  a 


172       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

week  for  a  3*ear,  is  a  little  above  the  average  in  the  grammar  schools  ; 
but  in  about  three  per  cent  of  the  cases  as  many  as  six  hundred 
recitation  periods  are  given  in  the  grammar  schools. 

The  secondary  schools  show  a  similar  lack  of  uniformity.  The 
smallest  allowance  observed  is  seventy-two  exercises  —  apparently 
twice  a  week  for  a  year — in  two  of  the  best  known  endowed  acade- 
mies of  New  England.  In  some  cases  history  and  kindred  subjects 
reach  seven  hundred  exercises  in  all ;  the  largest  allowance  seems 
to  be  about  nine  hundred  and  lift}'  exercises  during  the  secondary 
course.  Perhaps  the  most  thorough  course  which  has  come  under 
our  observation  is  that  of  a  New  England  academy :  three  hours  a 
week  throughout  the  four  years,  or  about  four  hundred  and  eighty 
exercises ;  but  these  are  full  hours  with  very  thorough  collateral 
work.  The  present  average  in  high  schools  would  seem  to  be  two 
hundred  to  two  hundred  and  forty  periods  in  all. 

Upon  the  question  of  the  proper  allowance  for  histoiy,  experienced 
persons  differ ;  but  two  of  the  best  known  school  superintendents  in 
the  country  agree  that  it  should  continue  during  eight  or  nine  years. 
The  head  of  an  excellent  normal  school  suggests  three  hours  a  week 
through  the  whole  course  of  study. 


9.   Time  recommended. 

Your  Conference  has  considered  these  fundamental  questions  with 
due  seriousness,  and  recommends  (Resolutions  14,  16,  17)  that  the 
actual  time  devoted  to  history  be  4^>t  less  than  three  forty-minnte 
periods  per  week  throughout  the  course  of  eight  years,^—  a  total  of 
about  nine  hundred  exercises  in  all.  This  is  ,no  more  than  is  being 
done  b}~  some  favored  schools,  and  it  has  the  support  of  many  prac- 
tical educators  acquainted  with  the  details  of  schools.  It  is,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  Conference,  a  reasonable  time  to  be  devoted  to 
the  group  of  subjects  —  history,  civil  government,  and  political 
economy.  It  is  about  one-eighth  of  the  school  time  of  the  child 
during  two- thirds  of  his  whole  course,  extending  to  the  end  of  the 
high  school.  Where  is  this  time  to  be  found  ?  We  respectfully  ask 
you  to  consider  whether  there  are  not  some  subjects  in  the  grammar 
school  curriculum  which  may  reasonably  give  up  part  of  their  time  to 
history.  We  particularly  suggest  that,  in  accordance  with  Resolu- 
tion 25,  the  time  given  to  political  geograplr^  be  so  applied  as  to 
connect  that  subject  with  the  study  of  history.  To  history  may  be 
assigned  part  of  the  time  saved  by  a  rational  rearrangement  of  arith- 
metic. Finally,  in  view  of  the  probable  improvement  in  the  study  of 
English  through  the  proper  teaching  of  history,  (Report,  §§  5,  32  ; 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       173 

Resolutions  22,  23)  we  ask  for  a  share  of  the  time  now  devoted  to 
language  study. 

It  is  not  our  expectation  that  such  radical  changes  can  be  brought 
about  in  a  moment ;  nor  would  the  recommendation  be  innde,  but  for 
the  belief  that  the  community  expects  a  new  provision  for  those 
subjects.  We  believe  that  the  program  which  we  suggest  might  at 
once  be  put  into  operation  in  the  whole  system  of  schools  in  some 
large  cities ;  and  that  once  established,  it  would  gradually  extend  to 
schools  where  the  conditions  are  less  favorable. 

10.    Distribution  of  Time. 

How  shall  the  time  thus  suggested  be  distributed  among  the  years 
of  the  school  course?  It  has  seemed  to  us  desirable  to  introduce 
about  one-half  of  the  consecutive  study  of  history  into  the  grammar 
schools".)  The  reasons  for  this  arrangement  hardly  need  be  stated. 
The  great  majority  of  our  children  never  pass  beyond  the  grammar 
schools,  and  if  these  subjects  are  interesting,  stimulating,  and  edu- 
cating, they  ought  to  be  introduced  early  enough  to  accord  their 
advantages  to  the  child  who  does  not  enter  the  high  school.  (§2.) 
If  the  course  is  to  be  consecutive,  distinct  historical  instruction 
would  therefore  begin  four  years  before  the  pupil  enters  the  high 
schools,  and  would  end  only  with  the  high  school  course. 

ii.    Question  of  Discrimination  for  those  preparing  for  College. 

The  questions  sent  down  by  the  Committee  of  Ten  for  our  consid- 
eration include  the  following :  "Should  the  subjects  be  treated 
differently  for  pupils  who  are  going  to  college,  for  those  who  are 
going  to  a  scientific  school,  and  for  those  who,  presumably,  are 
going  to  neither?" 

Several  educational  authorities  advise  such  a  separation.  One 
New  England  superintendent  thinks  that  a  difference  should  be  made 
"  for  the  sake  of  its  reflex  effect  on  the  secondary  and  primary 
schools"  ;  others  urge  a  more  liberal  provision  for  those  who  are  not 
to  go  to  college  than  for  those  who  will  have  a  later  opportunity  to 
study  history  ;  others  think  that  the  differentiation  is  made  necessary 
by  the  preparation  for  college  examinations ;  but  no  one  seems  to 
defend  the  system  unhappily  prevailing  in  some  institutions,  by 
which  those  who  are  to  get  most  training  hereafter  are  the  only  ones 
who  have  any  training  in  history  in  the  schools. 

The  Conference  believes  that  such  a  distinction,  especially  in 
schools  provided  for  the  children  by  public  taxation,  is  bad  for  all 
classes  of  pupils.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  schools  to  furnish  a  well 


174       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

grounded  and  complete  education  for  the  child ;  it  is  the  duty  of 
higher  institutions  to  accept  a  well  grounded  and  complete  education 
as  a  suitable  preparation  for  entrance  upon  their  courses.  Whatever 
improves  the  schools  must  improve  the  colleges  ;  but  our  function 
seems  to  be  simply  to  recommend  the  best  system  which  we  can 
devise  for  the  schools,  without  taking  into  account  any  subdivision  of 
pupils.  (Resolution  30.) 


IV.    SUBJECTS  AND  PROGRAMS. 
12.   Usual  Subjects. 

It  appears  from  a  comparison  of  the  statements  of  college  students 
that  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  who  have  studied  history  in  the 
schools,  seventeen  have  studied  general  histor}-,  twenty-two  ancient 
history,  and  thirty-seven  English  histoiy.  In  the  high  schools 
ancient^  history  is  far  more  common  because  many  colleges  require  it 
as  a  subject  for  entrance.  The  next  subject  in  favor  is  English 
history.  American  history  is  studied  in  only  about  one-third  as 
many  instances  in  high  schools  as  ancient  histoiy,  and  in  one-half 
as  many  schools  as  is  English  histoiy.  General  history  is  about  as 
common  as  American  history.  Our  most  enlightened  advisers  favor 
a  considerable  variety  of  subjects,  and  an  enlargement  of  the  histori- 
cal curriculum  of  the  grammar  schools.  Many  of  them  urge  the 
introduction  of  English  histoiy,  European  history,  and,  in  a  few 
cases,  French  histoiy.  In  the  state  of  Wisconsin  a  recent  effort 
has  been  made  to  induce  high  schools  to  offer  at  least  one  half-year 
of  ancient  history  and  one-half  3'ear  of  English  histoiy. 

A  course  in  general  history  is  frequently  suggested  ' '  because  the 
general  outline  is  necessaiy  to  secure  a  true  idea  of  historical  per- 
spective. .  .  .  Get  the  outline  at  the  very  start,  and  then  keep  filling 
it  in."  (The  opinion  of  the  Conference  is  decidedly  agajnstjsmgle 
courses  in  general  histor}vbecause  it  is  almost  impossible  to  carry 
them  on  without  the  study  degenerating  into  a  mere  assemblage  of 
dates  and  names.  Most  text-books  used  in  such  courses  are  dry  and 
lifeless  ;  better  books  do  not  give  a  sufficiently  clear  and  exact  picture. 
We  admit  the  advantage  of  a  broad  outlook,  but  contend  that  it  is 
not  to  be  had  by  gathering  together  a  mass  of  details  with  no  oppor- 
tunity to  show  their  relations. 

The  outlook  can  better  be  obtained  by  connecting  the  general 
course  of  events  with  the  history  of  one  or  more  countries.  (§  16  ; 
Resolution  14.)  Fortunately  the  subject  of  history,  like  that  of 
natural  science,  is  one  in  which  the  educational  advantages  may  be 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       175 

obtained  without  covering  the  whole  field.  It  is  important  to  look  at 
the  histoiy  of  several  countries  side  by  side,  and  to  notice  the  general 
movement  of  history,  but  that  advantage  may  be  gained  indirectly  in 
connection  with  specific  subjects.  (§§14,  15.) 

13.    Subjects  recommended. 

Out  of  the  specific  subjects  we  recommend  Greek,  Roman,  Eng-j 
lish,  American,  and  French  histoiy  ;  and  European  history  taught  in  I 
connection  with  English  and  French  history  or  in  the  year  of  intensive 
study.  (Resolutions  2-7,  14,  16.)  For  the  first  three  of  these  sub- 
jects the  argument  cannot  be  better  stated  than  in  the  words  of  a 
practical  teacher  of  history:  "History  is  a  unity.  .  .  .  The  past 
lives  in  the  present.  I  have  no  time  for  dry  facts.  I  can  give  my 
children  only  life.  Now  what  people  of  old  times  live  most  in  the 
nineteenth  century  ?  .  .  .  The  tasks  that  press  upon  us  to-day  were 
first  recognized  in  Greece.  Here  man  put  before  himself  in  definite 
shape  the  specific  problems  that  he  wills  to  solve.  Here  he  marked 
out  the  bounds  of  government,  art,  philosophy,  literature,  science  ; 
formulated  and  tested  their  principles  ;  saw  and  stated  clearly  their 
problems.  The  work  of  the  European  world  was  mapped  out  in 
Greece,  and  here  direction  was  given  to  human  effort  perhaps  forever. 
So  the  study  of  history  must  begin  with  Greece,  for  in  Greece  all 
history  is  found  in  a  nut-shell.  .  .  . 

"  Roman  history  is  the  great  central  ganglion  by  which  the  history 
of  the  world  is  connected ;  Rome  handed  lo  us  the  civilization  of 
Greece,  gave  us  community  of  thought  and  ideals,  rules  us  to-day  in 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  law.  Hence  Roman  history  lives  in  the  pre- 
sent and  must  be  taught.  .  .  . 

* '  English  history  .has  solved  the  problem  of  preserving  local 
authoritj',  selfish  devotion  to  which  wrecked  Greece,  and  yet  organ- 
izing it  as  efficiently  as  Rome  did  her  empire.  England  teaches  the 
world  the  secret  of  constitutional  government  and  lives  in  every  free 
state  to-day.  Hence  English  history  must  be  taught." 

American  history  needs  no  argument ;  it  is  already  widely  intro- 
duced ;  and  the  danger  is  not  that  it  will  be  neglected,  but  that  the 
schools  m&y  think  it  sufficient  in  itself.  -.French  histoiy  also  com- 
mends itself  to  the  Conference,  because  from  the  twelfth  to  the 
eighteenth  centuries  France  was  the  leading  nation  of  Europe, ,  and 
her  history  is  in  a  sense  the  history  of  civilization.  General  Euro- 
pean historjr  has  the  advantages  of  offering  subjects  capable  of 
detailed  and  intensive  study,  and  of  furnishing  a  contrast  to  that 
development  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  which  is  the  main  thought  of 
English  and  American  history.  (§  15.) 


17G       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

^ 

14.    Inter-relation  of  Subjects. 

In  arranging  these  various  subjects  we  recognize  the  desirability 
of  offering  a  small  number  of  subjects  thoroughly  taught,  rather  than 
of  breaking  up  the  courses  into  many  detached  parts.  (§7.)  At 
the  same  time  there  should  be  a  logical  relation  between  the  parts, 
and  a  use  of  the  comparative  method.  As  the  teacher  quoted  above 
sa}rs  :  "To  impress  the  unity  of  history  upon  my  children  ...  I  must 
feel  it  myself  in  its  every  detail.  ...  I  must  feel  the  points  of  similar- 
ity and  difference  between  the  Athenian  dikasteries  and  the  Anglican 
jury  system.  .  .  .  Constant  comparison,  cross  references,  the  show- 
ing of  the  past  in  the  present  is  the  very  substance  of  my  teaching." 

Hence  the  importance  of  choosing  a  suggestive  point  of  view  from 
which  comparison  is  easy.  "The  proper  organization  and  govern- 
ment of  a  State  is  the  highest  task  presented  to  man.  Hence  the 
greatest  emphasis  in  class  work  should  be  placed  on  political  and 
constitutional  history.  ...  I  find  that  my  pupils  turn  with  the 
greatest  interest  to  the  constitutional  problems  of  history  ;  they  feel 
their  political  importance  as  bearing  upon  the  issues  of  to-day.  One 
of  my  girls  said  to  me  not  long  ago  :  '  I  am  just  as  much  interested 
in  watching  the  growth  of  the  House  of  Commons  as  in  watching  the 
plants  in  my  window.'  ' 

The  opportunity  for  comparison  and  the  training  gained  from  a 
study  of  other  systems  are  both  lost  if  the  study  of  history  is  confined 
to  that  of  our  own  country.  The  details  of  that  history  are  to  a  cer- 
tain degree  "absorbed  through  the  pores";  for  it  is  constantly 
discussed  in  periodicals  and  newspapers.  On  the  other  hand  our  own 
history  is  best  understood  in  the  light  thrown  upon  it  by  other  history. 
"  We  are  all  Americans  ;  that  is  to  say  we  have  all  been  surrounded 
by  a  given  political  and  social  atmosphere  from  our  birth.  We  are 
thus  in  no  position  to  understand  our  institutions.  The  more  vitally 
important  these  are,  the  more  inherent  the  peculiarities  of  our  civiliza- 
tion, the  less  apt  we  are  to  become  conscious  of  them."  While 
Including  American  history  as  a  considerable  part  of  the  work,  we 
urge  that  in  all  schools  the  history  of  some  other  country  in  addition 
to  that  of  the  United  States  be  pursued. 

15.    Intensive  Study. 

The  history  of  any  great  country  is  so  extensive  that  the  schools 
can  hardly  expect  to  teach  more  than  an  outline.  Another  system 
which  has  in  it  many  elements  of  highly  valuable  training  is  to  select 
a  brief  period  and  put  intensive  study  upon  it.  This  is  the  practice  in 
one  of  the  best  schools  for  girls  to  be  found  in  New  England  :  "  The 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       177 

fourth  year  of  the  course  is  devoted  to  a  special  stud}'  of  the  period  of 
American  history  extending  from  1760  to  1790.  The  method  is 
purely  topical,  no  text-book  being  used."  The  importance  of  this 
intensive  study  was  so  strongly  presented  to  the  Conference  that,  after 
mature  deliberation,  it  was  voted  that  provision  should  be  made  for 
one  year  of  such  study.  (Resolution  6.)  This  will  offer  an  oppor- 
tunity to  apply,  on  a  small  scale,  the  kind  of  training  furnished  by  the 
best  colleges ;  it  will  teach  careful,  painstaking  examination  and 
comparison  of  sources ;  it  will  illuminate  other  broader  fields  of 
history ;  and  it  will  give  the  pupil  a  practical  power  to  collect  and  use 
historical  material,  which  will  serve  him  and  the  community  through- 
out all  his  after  life. 

By  vote  of  the  Conference  (Resolution  8)  the  following  list  of 
topics  suitable  for  a  year's  intensive  study  is  submitted,  in  accordance 
with  Resolution  6  : 

1.  The  Struggle  between  France  and  England  for  North  America. 

2.  Spain  in  the  New  "World. 

3.  The  French  Revolution  and  the  Napoleonic  Period. 

4.  Some  Phase  of  the  Renaissance. 

6.  The  Puritan  Movement  in  the  Seventeenth  Century. 

6.  The  Commerce  of  the  American  Colonies  during  the   Seventeenth  and 

Eighteenth  Centuries. 

7.  American  political  Leaders  from  1783  to  1830. 

8.  The  Territorial  Expansion  of  the  United  States. 

9.  American  Politics  from  1783  to  1830. 

10.  The  Mohammedans  in  Europe. 

11.  The  Influence  of  Greece  upon  modern  Life. 

12.  Some  Phase  of  the  Reorganization  of  Europe  since  1852. 

13.  Some  Phase  of  the  Reformation. 

14.  Some  considerable  Phase  of  local  History. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  list  gives  no  preference  to  the  history  of 
one  country  over  that  of  another.  In  any  case,  these  subjects  are  only 
suggestive  and  many  intelligent  teachers  will  be  able  to  find  topics 
which  the  interest  of  their  students  and  the  resources  of  their  libraries 
may  make  more  suitable. 

1 6.    Distribution  of  Subjects  and  Eight-Year  Program. 

Perhaps  the  most  difficult  task  of  the  Conference  was  to  draw  up  a 
program  in  which  a  proper  selection  of  subjects  should  be  properly 
distributed.  The  result  of  our  labors  is  set  forth  in  Resolutions  12 
and  14. 

That  the  work  of  history  should  begin  with  elementary  studies  in 
biography  and  mythology,  reenforced  by  good  historical  reading,  needs 
no  argument.  The  interest  of  the  pupil  is  thus  stimulated  and  he  is 
12 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

prepared  to  take  up  more  serious  study  when  the  time  comes.  After 
two  years  of  this  kind  of  study  in  the  grammar  schools,  a  year  of 
Am^encjRjLjnstory  is  next  suggested  because  that  is  the  subject  in 
which  local  interest  is  most  readily  aroused,  in  which  good  parallel 
reading  is  easiest  to  find,  and  with  which  it  is  easiest  to  connect  some 
study  of  civil  government.  For  the  fourth  year  we  recommend 
"Greek  and  Roman  history,  with  their  Oriental  counections."  This 
order  of  subjects  was  strenuously  urged  in  the  Conference  by  profess- 
ors and  teachers  of  American  history,  upon  the  express  ground  that 
the  large  number  of  pupils  who  leave  the  schools  at  the  end  of  the 
grammar  school  course  should  not  be  deprived  of  the  opportunit}r  of 
learning  something  of  other  civilizations.  Classical  history  is  now 
usually  taught  as  a  perfunctory  subject  in  connection  with  studies  in 
the  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  and  is  rarely  studied  except  by 
those  who  expect  to  go  to  college.  This  is  an  entirely  wrong  con- 
ception of  the  value  of  ancient  history  ;  it  ought  to  be  pursued  for  the 
sake  of  broadening  the  pupil's  mind,  widening  his  horizon,  and  bring- 
ing him  into  contact  with  a  civilization  so  different  from  our  own  that 
it  will  suggest  points  of  difference  and  comparison.  No  part  of  our 
recommendations  seems  to  us  more  important  than  this,  that  some- 
thing in  addition  to  American  history  be  taught  in  the  grammar 
(schools.  It  will  be  noticed,  however,  that  in  the  six-year  alternate 
course  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  shift  the  Greek  and  Roman 
history  to  the  first  year  in  the  high  school  (Resolution  16). 

In  the  fifth  and  sixth  years  of  historical  study  (the  first  and  second 
years  in  the  high  school)  we  recommend  French  history  and  English 
history  ;  here  it  is  believed  that  the  advantages  of  general  history  can 
be  obtained  without  its  drawbacks  (§  12).  The  intention  of  the  rec- 
ommendation is,  that  French  history  shall  be  considered  as  the 
central  or  leading  history  of  Europe,  about  which  shall  be  grouped 
the  history  of  other  countries.  The  subject,  by  its  contrast,  is  an 
excellent  means  of  bringing  out  the  peculiarities  of  the  following 
subject,  English  history,  which  the  teacher  should  make  the  center  of 
the  great  political  and  constitutional  movement  which  England  best 
exemplifies.  In  the  seventh  year  it  seems  fitting  that  American 
history  should  again  be  taken  up,  this  time  with  more  reference  to  the 
development  of  the  government  and  the  character  of  statesmen.  It 
seems  particularly  desirable  to  bring  this  phase  of  American  history 
late  in  the  course,  when  the  students  are  more  mature.  Finally,  in 
the  eighth  year,  a  subject  is  to  be  taken  up  for  intensive  or  detailed 
study  (§  15).  In  this  year  we  have  desired  to  give  the~~scn~ools  an 
opportunity  to  arrange  a  course  each  according  to  its  own  materials. 

In  this  program  we  have  not  adopted  either  of  two  common  ideas 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       179 

as  to  the  proper  arrangement  and  relation  of  courses.  The  subjects 
as  recommended  do  not  follow  one  another  in  chronological  order, 
although  from  the  fifth  to  the  seventh  year  they  form  a  logically 
connected  series.  Nor  has  it  seemed  desirable  to  recommend  a 
method  not  uncommon  in  Germany,  by  which  the  student  begins 
with  the  history  of  his  own  city  and  widens  out  to  his  nation,  to 
Europe,  and  perhaps  eventually  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  The  effect 
of  this  process  in  suggesting  the  relative  importance  of  countries  is 
perhaps  shown  by  the  name  of  a  hotel  in  Paris  :  "H6tel  de  I'Univers 
et  des  fitats  Unis."  What  is  most  distant  geographically  is  most 
distant  also  in  thought ;  if  this  process  is  at  any  point  interrupted 
the  child  is  left  with  the  feeling  that  the  world  stops  where  his  study 
has  ceased. 

17.   Alternative  Six-Year  Program. 

Although  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  a  minimum  of  three  exercises 
a  week  during  eight  years  is  no  more  than  good  schools  ought  to  pro- 
vide, and  that  time  may  be  found  for  it  without  sacrifice  of  other 
interests  of  the  pupils  (§  9),  we  nevertheless  recognize  the  practical 
difficulties  which  in  many  schools  would  prevent  the  introduction  of 
so  elaborate  a  system.  We  have  therefore  drawn  up  an  alternative 
program  for  a  six-year  course  (Resolution  16).  The  principal  differ- 
ences are^he  omission  of  French  history  as  a  separate  subject,  and  the 
omission  of  the  intensive  study  of  a  special  period^  there  is  the  fur- 
ther defect  of  leaving  the  grammar  schools  with  ndother  formal  study 
than  American  history.  Nevertheless  the  Conference  believes  this 
course  to  occupy  no  more  time  than  is  already  given  in  a  considerable 
number  of  schools,  and  to  be  an  improvement  upon  most  of  the 
present  programs,  particularly  if  it  is  properly  connected  with  the 
study  of  historical  literature.  (§§  30-32.) 

1 8.  Civil  Government. 

Civil  Government  is  pursued  at  present  in  very  few  grammar 
schools,  —  certainly  in  not  more  than  one-sixth  of  those  which  have 
come  under  our  observation.  It  is,  however,  rather  a  frequent  sub- 
ject in  high  schools,  about  one-third  offering  some  sort  of  instruction 
in  it.  In  actual  teaching  it  seems  little  associated  with  history  ;  it  is 
usually  simply  a  text-book  study  during  a  part  of  one  year ;  and  very 
few  of  the  teachers  seem  to  be  familiar  with  the  subject. 

Among  experienced  teachers  there  seems  to  be  a  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  proper  place  of  the  subject.  Some  would  introduce 
it  early  in  elementary  form,  on  general  topics  ;  others  would  make  it 
an  elaborate  study  late  in  the  high  school  course.  The  Conference  in 


180       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

Resolutions  10,  14  and  16  has  attempted  to  reconcile  these  two  prin- 

/ciples  by  introducing  the  study  in  two  places,  but  always  in  connec- 
tion with  history,  and  as  an  adjunct  to  that  subject. 

While  recognizing  the  importance  of  the  study  of  government  as  a 
discipline  and  as  an  education  for  American  citizens,  we  do  not  feel 
justified  in  recommending  more  time  for  the  subject  than  is  now 
employed  by  the  best  schools.  We  expect  that  it  will  occupy,  includ- 
ing the  elements  of  political  economy  (§  19),  about  one-half  the  time 
devoted  to  the  group  of  historical  and  kindred  studies  in  each  of  the 
two  years  recommended  ;  and  we  believe  that  this  distribution  is 
much  better  than  the  more  common  system  of  giving  the  subject  a 
considerable  number  of  hours  during  a  few  weeks  onljT.  But  it  is 
expected  that  good  teachers  in  dealing  with  history  throughout,  and 
especially  with  American  history,  will  constantly  refer  to  the  forms 
and  functions  of  government  with  which  the  children  are  most 
familiar. 

The  question  what  subjects  should  be  taught  and  what  ground  covered 
in  the  study  of  civil  government  is  one  which  we  have  not  thought  it 
necessary  precisely  to  determine.  One  system  begins  with  the  local 
government,  as  nearest  to  the  child,  and  thence  leads  up  through  the 
State  to  the  national  government.  Another  method  takes  up  first  that 
which  is  most  likely  to  attract  the  imagination  of  the  child,  the  great 
machinery  of  the  national  government  and  its  more  striking  functions, 
such  as  the  postoffice,  the  army,  the  navy,  and  the  collection  of 
customs.  Another  principle  is  to  associate  with  government  practical 
ethics  and  rules  of  conduct.  Each  one  of  these  systems,  properly 
taught,  has  its  value  and  may  come  within  a  program  of  history 
and  kindred  branches.  Your  Conference  would,  however,  express 
the  belief  that  the  theoretical  questions  of  government,  such  as  the 
origin  and  nature  of  the  state,  the  doctrine  of  sovereignty,  the  theory 
of  the  separation  of  powers,  etc.,  are  very  difficult  to  teach  to  children  ; 
and  further,  that  a  system  of  ethics  can  better  bo  taught  by  example 
and  by  appealing  to  common  sense  and  to  accepted  standards  of 
conduct,  than  by  formal  lessons.  On  the  other  hand  the  simple 
principles  underlying  the  laws  which  regulate  the  relations  of  individ- 
uals with  the  state,  may  be  taught  by  specific  instances  and  illustra- 
tion ;  and  the  machinery  of  government,  such  as  systems  of  voting, 
may  be  constantly  illustrated  by  the  practice  of  the  communities  in 
which  the  children  live  (§  34). 

In  Resolutions  28  and  29  the  methods  of  study  approved  by  the 
Conference  are  distinctly  set  forth.  In  the  grammar  schools  the 
instruction  ought  to  be  simple  and  practical,  using  books  ana  familiar 
institutions  only  as  illustratioEufahd  collateral  material ;  the  study  of 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       181 

civil  government  and  that  of  history  ought  constantly  to  work  into 
each  other  and  to  support  each  other.  In  the  high  schools  civil 
government  ma}*  be  taught  more  elaborately  ;  and  here  is  an  oppor- 
tunity of  which  also  some  use  may  be  made  in  the  grammar  schools : 
that  of  sending  children  to  study  their  own  local  and  stale  government 
in  operation.  A  teacher  of  experience,  a  member  of  the  Conference, 
has  for  years  been  in  the  habit  of  taking  his  high  school  class  in 
civil  government  to  the  local  courts,  to  the  city  councils  in  session, 
and  to  the  capital  of  the  state,  fifty-six  miles  away,  to  see  the  legis- 
lature in  session  (§34).  Other  helpful  methods  are  debates,  mock 
town  meetings,  mock  legislatures,  reports  of  proceedings  of  legislatures 
and  of  Congress.  At  this  stage  the  study  lends  itself  to  the  topical 
method  (§33),  and  pupils  may  be  encouraged  to  prepare  papers  on 
the  local  institutions  about  them. 

The  subject  of  government  is  so  difficult  and  requires  so  much 
practical  illustration  that  the  Conference  would  not  recommend  for 
schools  an  elaborate  study  of  foreign  systems.  They  believe,  how- 
ever, that  constant  reference  to  parallels  or  divergences  in  foreign 
politics  will  be  interesting  and  helpful  (Resolution  29).  They  com- 
mend, especially,  reference  to  the  German  and  Swiss  governments, 
as  suggesting  different  methods  pursued  by  nations  governing  them- 
selves under  systems  similar  to  ours ;  study  of  the  English  govern- 
ment, as  presenting  the  contrast  between  the  parliamentary  and  the 
committee  systems,  and  study  of  the  French  government  as  a  type 
of  highly  centralized  systems,  in  which  local  government  is  entirely 
subordinated. 

19.  Political  Economy. 

The  subject  of  political  economy  appears  to  be  taught  in  only  about 
one-twentieth  of  the  high  schools,  and,  in  most  cases,  even  there  is 
confined  to  routine  study  and  recitation  from  a  text-book.  Here,  as 
in  civil  government,  we  believe  that  the  essential  principles  are  not 
above  the  reach  of  high  school  pupils  ;  but  that  an  attempt  to  master 
the  whole  subject  will  result  in  the  understanding  of  only  a  small 
part.  Few  schools  have  teachers  sufflcientl}'  trained  to  discuss  and 
illustrate  the  general  subject ;  nor  are  there  proper  text-books  for 
high  school  use.  It  is  believed  that  the  subject  is  not  attempted  in 
schools  of  other  countries  corresponding  in  grade  to  our  high  school. 

Upon  no  question  which  the  Conference  has  considered  is  there 
greater  difference  of  opinion  among  the  persons  consulted.  Some 
eminent  superintendents  and  principals  would  introduce  or  continue 
political  economy  in  the  last  year  of  the  high  school  course,  or  at 
least,  in  the  last  half-year.  "  Daily  lessons  for  about  twelve  weeka 


182       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

would  be  ample,"  says  one.  On  the  other  hand  several  teachers 
assert  that  political  economy  "  has  no  place  in  secondary  schools." 
"  It  is  not  proved  that  the  subject  can  be  advantageously  taught  in 
secondary  schools,  nor  is  the  contrary  proved."  In  this  difference  of 
opinion  it  has  seemed  to  the  Conference  wise,  to  recommend  that  there 
be  no  formal  instruction  in  political  economy,  but  that  the  general 
principles  be  taught  u  in  connection  particular!}'  with  United  States 
history,  civil  government,  and  commercial  geographj*  "  (Resolutions 
9,  30).  The  subject  would,  therefore,  appear  in  its  most  elementary 
form  in  the  third  year  of  the  grammar  school,  and  would  be  revived 
in  the  last  two  years  of  the  high  school.  In  both  places  the  subject 
should  not  be  introduced  as  a  distinct  and  separate  science  ;  but  as 
illustrating  government  and  political  questions.  In  connection  with 
Resolution  30  the  Conference  adopted  the  following  memorandum  : 

"  It  is  suggested,  for  example,  that  when  the  tariff  history  of  the 
United  States  is  being  studied,  the  laws  of  value,  the  conditions  of 
production,  and  the  principles  of  exchange,  especially  as  relating  to 
international  trade,  be  explained  ;  that  in  connection  with  the  study 
of  the  development  of  means  of  transpoitation,  such  topics  as  the 
concentration  of  population  and  of  industry,  the  organic  character  of 
society,  the  corporate  organization  of  industry,  the  capitalistic  mode 
of  production,  the  process  of  distribution,  monopolies,' labor  organ- 
izations, etc.,  be  discussed ;  that  in  connection  with  a  study  of  Jack- 
son's administration,  the  subjects  of  crises,  banks  and  their  functions, 
the  functions  of  money,  the  laws  of  its  circulation,  bimetallism,  paper 
mone}',  and  kindred  topics  be  presented  ;  that  in  connection  with  the 
study  of  our  great  wars,  certain  topics  in  finance  be  introduced,  as  for 
example,  the  principles  of  war  finances,  the  history  of  our  debt, 
the  process  of  debt  conversion,  and  the  methods  of  paying  public 
debts  ;  that  in  connection  with  the  study  of  civil  government,  such 
topics  as  the  assessment  and  collection  of  taxes,  the  principles  of 
taxation,  the  kinds  of  taxes,  the  functions  of  government,  the  forma- 
tion and  vote  of  the  budget,  the  expenses  of  government,  etc.,  be 
studied. 

"  In  making  these  recommendations  the  Conference  does  not  intend 
to  suggest  that  less  time  than  is  customary  be  given  to  political 
economy,  or  that  less  emphasis  be  given  to  its  importance  as  a  study 
in  the  high  schools  ;  but  rather  that  emphasis  be  laid  on  vital  topics, 
and  that  less  time  be  devoted  to  controverted  subjects  and  unsettled 
questions." 

It  is  desirable  to  avoid  the  impression  that  political  economy  is  an 
abstruse  science  of  which  no  part  can  be  understood  without  the 
mastery  of  the  system  ;  teachers  ought  to  set  forth  the  principles  of 
finance,  commerce,  and  business,  as  a  part  of  the  everyday  life  of  the 
community.  The  methods  of  teaching  the  economic  principles  thus 
indicated  must  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  teacher.  It  is  a  subject 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.        183 

in  which  text-book  work  is  particularly  inefficient,  and  no  teacher 
ought  to  undertake  the  work  who  has  not  had  some  training  in 
economic  reasoning.  The  only  methods  which  can  possibly  be  suc- 
cessful are  those  which  call  upon  the  class  for  independent  thought 
and  suggestion. 

V.   COLLEGE  EXAMINATIONS. 
20.   Present  Requirements. 

The  usual  requirement  in  history,  where  the  subject  appears  at  all 
in  the  conditions  of  entrance  to  college,  is  an  elementary  knowledge 
of  the  history  of  one  country,  or  at  most  of  two  countries.  The  usual 
subjects  are  Greek  and  Roman  history,  —  which  are  supposed  to  be 
taken  up  with  classical  study,  —  or  American  history  ;  in  a  few  cases 
English  history  is  also,  or  may  be,  a  subject  for  examination.  These 
requirements  differ  in  amount  and  in  application,  and  it  would 
undoubtedly  be  a  reform  of  much  value  if  they  could  be  made  simpler 
and  more  uniform.  The  present  subjects  are  very  unsatisfactory,  not 
because  they  are  uninteresting  in  themselves,  but  because  in  many 
schools  the}'  are  studied  with  a  view  only  to  the  college  examina- 
tions, and  without  reference  to  any  preparation  for  life.  In  one  of 
the  schools  in  which  preparation  in  history  is  best  and  most  system- 
atic for  other  pupils,  boys  and  girls  who  are  going  to  college  are 
habitually  deprived  of  that  instruction,  and  are  systematically 
crammed  during  a  few  weeks  preceeding  examinations.  It  is  com- 
plained that  "  at  present,  examinations  compel  the  teacher  to  accept 
bad  methods  for  college  preparation."  We  have  not  felt  called 
upon  to  make  any  recommendations  on  the  general  subject  of 
entrance  to  college  ;  but  we  desire  to  enter  a  protest  against  the 
present^  lax  and  inefficient  system  of  historical  examinations,  and 
to  ~urge  a  change  by  which  schools  which  use  proper  methods 
shall  have  some  advantage. 

21.   Suggestions  of  Improvement. 

The  dissatisfaction  with  the  present  system  is  shown  by  many  pro- 
tests from  teachers.  ''The  requirements  for  college  ought  to  be  so 
framed,"  says  a  high  school  teacher,  "that  the  methods  of  teaching 
best  adapted  to  meet  them  will  also  be  best  for  all  pupils."  Exami- 
nations "  should  be  such  as  test  the -powers  of  the  pupil  and  the 
methods  of  the  teacher :  analysis  of  subjects  should  be  demanded ; 
.  .  .  statements  from  analysis  required.  The  pupil  should  be  asked 
to  state  what  books  he  has  used  in  his  course  of  study,  and  what 


184       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

service  each  book  has  done  him  ;  what  methods  are  employed  in 
h'is  school ;  what  work  he  has  done  in  libraries.  ...  In  short,  the 
mental  training,  alertness,  and  intelligence  of  the  pupil  should  be 
tested  rather  than  memory  onty." 

A  very  ingenious  suggestion,  which  deserves  the  attention  of  college 
authorities,  is  that  the  colleges  accept  any  combination  of  two  historical 
studies,  —  as  Greek  and  American,  FrenclT  and  English,  —  as  a 
proper  preparation  for  college,  allowing  additional  historical  subjects 
as  advanced  requirements.  This  method  if  adopted  would  go  a  long 
way  to  increase  the  number  of  historical  subjects  taught,  and  would 
facilitate  the  adoption  of  the  reforms  suggested  by  this  report 
(§§13,  15). 

Between  the  system  of  examinations  and  that  of  certificates  the 
Conference  has  no  recommendation  to  make,  believing  it  to  be  a 
general  subject  which  lies  outside  the  present  discussion.  Where 
certificated  are  accepted,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  colleges  to  take  them 
only  from  schools  w:hich  have  suitable  libraries  and  pursue  intelligent 
methods.  Where  a  college  accepts  no  tests  but  its  own,  a  proper 
written  examination  seems  as  fair  a  system  as  can  be  devised ;  but 
examinations  may  be  so  framed  as  to  throw  more  weight  upon 
general  knowledge,  and  less  on  memory. 

In  Resolution  32  we  have  decidedly  expressed  the  opinion  that  less 
attention  be  paid  to  detail  and  more  to  a  power  of  comparison  and 
judgment.  Schools  which  adopt  an  improved  general  system  of 
teaching  history  will  give  to  their  pupils  a  training  in  some  respects 
of  the  same  nature  as  that  gained  from  science.  Although  it  is 
impossible  in  history  to  simplify  and  vary  the  phenomena  which  are 
observed,  it  may  nevertheless  be  made  in  part  a  laboratory  subject. 
In  some  colleges  the  entrance  requirements  in  physics  call  for  an 
examination,  but  the  pupils  also  submit  note-books  as  evidence 
that  they  have  pursued  their  previous  work  in  a  systematic  and  scien- 
tific fashion.  We  believe  that  a  similar  S}'stem  may  be  applied  with 
good  effect  to  historical  examinations.  Besides  the  regular  written 
tests,  papers  prepared  in  the  schools  may  be  submitted  as  a  part  of 
the  evidence  of  preparation  (Resolution  33).  The  effect  would  be 
that  schools  which  had  properly  used  collateral  reading  and  other 
material  would  be  more  successful  in  getting  their  boys  into  college 
than  those  which  depended  solely  on  text-books  ;  and  that  the  colleges 
would  be  greatly  improved  by  receiving  into  historical  courses  bo}rs 
and  girls  who  had  had  preliminar}7  training  of  a  proper  kind.  The 
f  time  has  come  for  the  colleges  to  set  their  faces  against  perfunctory 
text-book  methods  in  history,  in  the  same  manner  as  in  classics  and 
natural  science. 


HISTORY,   CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.        185 


22.    Time  of  Examinations. 

The  question  with  reference  to  a  division  of  examinations  is 
answered  in  oar  Resolution  34,  which  agrees  with  the  majority  of  the 
opinions  collected  from  historical  teachers  upon  this  subject.  With  a 
proper  system  of  examinations  the  eighth  or  intensive  year  would  do 
most  to  prepare  for  entrance  to  college,  and  the  examination  would 
therefore  naturally  come  at  the  end  of  the  course.  Hence  history 
should  be  a  "final"  subject  and  not  a  "preliminary." 


VI.    METHODS  OF  HISTORICAL  TEACHING. 
23.    Present  Methods. 

The  last  question  submitted  to  the  Conference  is:  "Can  any 
description  be  given  of  the  best  method  of  teaching  throughout  the 
school  course  ?"  In  our  judgment  the  selection  and  arrangement  of 
studies  in  the  schools,  imperfect  as  they  now  are,  need  reform  less 
than  the  methods  of  teaching.  In  the  grammar  schools  very  few 
teachers  know  any  other  system  than  simple  recitation  by  rote  from 
text-books  ;  and  this  is  particularly  the  case  in  large  city  schools. 
The  text-books  are  frequently  poor  and  antiquated,  and  often  have 
made  so  little  impression  upon  the  pupils'  minds  that  their  veiy 
names  are  forgotten.  Outside  reading  and  topical  work  does  not 
appear  in  more  than  one  fifth  of  the  grammar  schools,  and  is  imper- 
fect even  in  these.  Not  much  better  is  the  condition  of  the  high 
schools  and  academies ;  in  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  cases  exam- 
ined, all  had  recitations ;  sixty-nine  used  some  kind  of  outside 
reference  books  ;  twenty-six  used  oral  topics  ;  forty-seven  used  written 
topics  ;  in  fifty-five  there  were  written  lessons  ;  in  eighty-two  appears 
some  kind  of  geographical  instruction ;  but  only  in  fifty-eight  any 
form  of  map  drawing.  The  apparatus  for  outside-  reading  is  usually 
small,  although  some  high  schools  have  large  reference  libraries. 
The  present  methods  throw  entirely  too  much  stress  on  a  few  brief 
text-books;  and  comparatively  few  teachers  have  the  spirit  or  the 
apparatus  to  carry  their  classes  outside  those  narrow  limits.  Hence 
at  least  one  experienced  member  of  the  Conference  was  at  first 
inclined  to  think  that  possibly  history  should  be  omitted  alto- 
gether from  school  programs,  because,  he  said,  teaching  by  rote 
from  text-books  made  the  subject  disagreeable ;  and  because  it 
led  to  indefinite  ideas,  which  were  in  many  cases  worse  than 
none.  The  first  necessity,  he  thought,  was  an  improvement  in  the 
teachers. 


186       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 


24.    Improved  Methods. 

Nevertheless  the  Conference  had  before  it  detailed  accounts  of 
at  least  three  widely  separated  }'et  highly  successful  schools,  in  which 
history  is  taught  in  a  common-sense  and  efficient  manner ;  and  they 
were  greatly  encouraged  by  the  interest  shown  by  pupils  in  those 
schools.  The  first  is  an  academy  in  a  State  capital,  in  which  history 
begins  for  very  small  children,  with  stories  of  heroic  characters ; 
then  United  States  history  and  Cox's  Mythology  are  taken  up  side  by 
side  ;  in  the  third  year  English  history  is  begun  ;  then  American 
history,  including  the  history  of  French  and  Spanish  America  as 
collateral  with  that  of  the  English  settlements.  In  the  later  ye&rs 
the  pupils  use  the  large  and  well  appointed  State  Library.  The 
master  makes  it  his  object  to  present  history  to  them  as  a  basis  of 
enjoyment  of  art  and  literature  ;  thus,  he  teaches  American  litera- 
ture in  connection  with  colonial  history.  There  are  constant 
references  and  comparisons  from  one  field  of  histoiy  to  another. 
:  Throughout  the  course  he  has  in  mind  an  ethical  purpose  — to 
suggest  the  causes  of  personal  and  national  greatness  and  weak- 
ness ;  and  his  boys  always  elect  histoiy  after  they  get  into  college 
(§34). 

The  second  of  these  schools  is  a  high  school  in  a  prosperous  New 
England  town  ;  here  note-books  are  used  in  the  classes,  and  there  are 
special  topics  for  investigation,  supplementary  talks  by  the  instructor 
and  by  members  of  the  class,  assignments  and  reports  of  collateral 
reading  in  history  and  literature,  and  debates  on  points  upon  which 
opinions  or  authorities  differ.  \  The  third  school,  an  endowed  acad- 
emy of  a  high  grade,  presents  a  systematic  four-years  program, 
covering  successively  Greek,  Roman,  English,  and  American  history, 
with  extensive  parallel  reading  and  much  written  work  throughout. 

These  accounts,  and  those  of  similar  schools,  seem  to  show  that 
good  teaching  of  history  is  obtainable  under  present  conditions,  and 
that  it  is  safe  to  recommend  extended  and  systematic  teaching  of 
history  with  the  expectation  that  some  schools  can  at  once  adopt  it 
in  its  entire t}-,  and  that  it  may  gradually  work  its  way  into  the 
system  of  American  education. 

25.    Training  of  Teachers. 

"  Above  all,  the  teacher  must  keep  up  with  the  times  in  books, 
methods,  lines  of  thought,  and  interest  .  .  .  she  must  realize  that 
the  world  is  always  passing  on,  and  that,  like  Alice  in  Wonderland, 
she  must  run  as  fast  as  she  can  to  keep  where  she  is.  ...  She  must 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       187 

keep  herself  in  connection  with  the  great  teachers  of  her  time." 
That  this  ideal  is  not  reached  is  shown  b}7  the  lack  of  preparation  on 
the  part  of  most  teachers  of  history. 

In  Germany  such  teachers  are  almost  invariably  s^gcjLalLsts.  Such 
subdivision  is  not  uncommon  in  our  large  city  high  schools  and 
academics  ;  but  at  present  the  work  is  very  frequently  divided  up 
among  teachers  of  other  subjects,  none  of  whom  has  an}'  real  interest 
in  histor}\  The  opportunities  of  getting  good  historical  training 
both  by  men  and  women  are  now  such  that,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Conference,  all  high  schools  and  academies  able  to  pay  good  salaries 
ought  to  insist  that  the  teacher  of  history  should  have  "  a  knowledge 
of  illuminating  methods  of  teaching  history."  Even  under  unfavora- 
ble conditions^  we  belieYe  that  too  high  a  standard  is  not  set  up  by 
Resolution  19  :  "  That  in  all  schools  it  is  desirable  that  history 
should  be  taught  by  teachers  who  have  not  only  a  fondness  for 
historical  study,  but  who  also  have  paid  special  attention  to  effective 
methods  of  imparting  instruction."  In  other  words  it  would  be  as 
sensible  for  schools  to  employ  a  deaf  and  dumb  person  to  teach  read- 
ing, or  to  ask  a  Cherokee  to  teach  Latin,  as  to  depend  for  the 
teaching  of  history  on  persons  who  have  not  had  special  training  in 
history.  The  supply  of  suitable  candidates  is  now,  or  soon  will  be, 
such  that  no  School  Board  need  put  up  with  incompetent  teachers 
of  history. 

What  is  to  be  done  with  the  teachers  already  in  service  who  cannot 
take  even  a  year  of  special  study  ?  Some  system  of  special  teachers' 
courses  must  be  devised,  with  practical  work  going  on  during  the 
school  year.  When  it  is  established  there  will  doubtless  still  be 
some  bad  teaching,  but  it  will  be  without  excuse.  In  the  smaller 
high  schools  the  problem  is  more  difficult,  because  the  teachers  are 
fewer  and  must  divide  their  time  among  several  subjects ;  in  such 
cases  the  first  step  is  to  employ  teachers  with  a  good  all-round  train- 
ing, with  some  preparation  on  each  subject  the}'  undertake,  in 
preference  to  those  who  have  a  smattering  of  many  subjects.  In 
the  grammar  schools  the  subjects  are  simpler,  the  collateral  reading 
and  illustrations  easy  to  apply,  and  the  necessary  training  is  corres- 
pondingly less.  Perhaps  the  introduction  of  the  "  departmental  i 
method"  would  improve  the  status  of  history  in  schools  of  that  grade.  ' 
Here,  also,  fair  dealing  requires  that  the  teachers  now  in  service  have 
some  opportunity  to  improve  themselves.  Is  it  not  the  duty  of  the 
universities  in  or  near  large  cities  to  cooperate  with  the  schools  in 
establishing  training  courses? 


188       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL   ECONOMY. 

26.    Lectures. 

What  shall  be  the  teacher's  method  of  imparting  his  superior 
knowledge?  Shall  it  be  by  lectures?  It  is  the  general  opinion  of 
experienced  teachers  that  history  should  begin  with  simple  stories 
told  to  the  child ;  a  little  later  the}'  may  read  in  books  like  Haw- 
thorne's Wonder  Book,  or  Bulfinch's  Age  of  Fable,  or  from  the 
collections  of  stories  on  American  and  English  history.  It  is  only 
in  the  later  stages  of  the  course,  if  at  all,  that  formal  lectures  are 
applicable  to  school  instruction. 

One  form  of  lecture  is,  however,  both  admissible  and  desirable  ;  it 
is  well  in  a  brief  talk  to  present  the  substance  of  the  next  or  of  ap- 
proaching lessons,  so  as  to  suggest  to  the  scholar  the  relations  of  the 
facts  he  is  about  to  study.  "In  my  presentation  of  a  subject," 
writes  a  teacher,  "I  alwa}rs  work  from  circumference  to  center.  I 
sketch,  first,  the  barest  outlines  of  the  whole,  so  that  the  pupils  may 
see  the  bearing  and  feel  the  relative  importance  of  the  subject  in 
hand.  For  instance,  if  we  are  studying  the  Hannibalic  Wars,  the 
pupils  know  that  this  is  one  of  the  seven  or  eight  great  wars  by 
which  Rome  conquered  the  world,  that  the  period  of  conquest  is  one 
of  the  four  periods  of  the  Roman  republic,  and  that  the  republic  is 
one  of  the  three  forms  of  development  which  the  government  of 
Rome  assumed." 

Set  lectures  on  the  lesson,  while  very  suitable  for  colleges,  are 
not  so  well  adapted  to  schools.  To  be  useful  they  require  elaborate 
note-taking, —  a  severe  strain  if  well  done,  and  if  ill  done  produc- 
tive of  mental  dissipation.  We  incline  to  recommend  only  infor- 
mal talks  which  will  explain  the  cause  and  effect  of  events,  and 
which  may  add  interesting  illustrations  and  comparisons  to  the 
lesson  of  the  da}',  as  it  appears  in  the  text-book.  In  the  advanced 
grades,  an  interesting  and  profitable  exercise  is  to  call  upon  pupils  to 
prepare  lectures  under  the  direction  of  the  teacher ;  on  these,  notes 
should  be  taken  by  the  other  pupils.  If  the  subject  is  then  reviewed 
at  another  exercise  b}'  the  teacher,  both  the  pupil,  lecturer,  and 
hearers  will  be  quickened. 

27.   Text-Books. 

In  Resolution  20  we  recommend  :  "  That  after  the  first  two  years 
a  suitable  text- book  or  text-books  should  be  used,  but  only  as  a  basis 
of  fact  and  arrangement,  to  be  supplemented  by  other  methods." 
Since  the  text- book  is,  and  ought  to  be,  the  center  of  the  study  of 
history  in  schools,  a  good  text- book  is  essential.  This  simple  and 


HISTORY,  CIVIL   GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       180 

self-evident  principle  is  not  carefully  observed.  A  rough  analysis  of 
the  books  used  in  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  high  schools  seems  to 
show  that  seventy-six  have  poor  books.  The  criteria  of  a  good  text- 
book are  :  first,  that  it  should  be  written  b^an_expert  in  the  subject, 
who  knows  what  to  save  and  what  to  throw  away  ;  second,  that  it 
should  be  arranged  in  a  convenient  form,  with  running  headings, 
tables  of  contents,  indexes,  and  other  aids  ;  third,  that  it  should  deal 
with  the  essentials  of  history,  avoiding  accounts  of  military  events,  or 
the  mere  outline  of  political  discussions;  fourth,  that  it  should  be 
embellished  with  numerous  and  correct  maps  to  which  repeated  refer- 
ence should  be  made  in  the  text ;  fifth,  that  it  should  be  interesting  to 
the  average  reader,  and  lightened  b}'  suitable  illustrations  and  quota- 
tions from  contemporary  authorities.  A  few  text-books  possess  most 
of  these  characteristics,  but  the  present  system  of  selecting  or  of 
placing  text-books  in  the  schools  does  not  seem  to  give  suitable  pre- 
ference to  the  better  books.  In  the  judgment  of  the  Conference  a 
text-book  ought  to  be  something  more  than  the  mere  development  of 
a  "  story,"  it  ought  to  include  something  on  the  social  ana  economic 
side,  as  well  as  on  the  political ;  and  it  ought  to  refer  to,  and  facilitate, 
outside  reading  and  the  preparation  of  topics. 

We  recommend  further  that  a  practice  be  established  in  the  schools 
of  using  two,  three,  or  four  parallel  text-books  at  a  time.  (Resolu- 
tion 21).  By  preparing  in  different  books,  or,  by  using  more  than 
one  book  on  a  lesson,  pupils  will  acquire  the  habit  of  comparison,  and 
the  no  less  important  habit  of  doubting  whether  any  one  book  covers 
the  ground.  The  practical  difficulties  are  few  ;  where  school  boards 
buy  text-books  four  sets  of  ten  books  each  cost  no  more  than  one  set 
of  forty  books  ;  where  pupils  buy  their  own  books  classes  may  be 
divided  into  three  or  four  groups,  the  members  of  each  group  provid- 
ing themselves  with  the  same  book. 


28.   Recitations. 

What  is  learned  in  the  text-books  ought  in  most  cases  to  be  brought 
home  to  the  mind  in  recitations,  which  should  be  less  a  test  of  faith- 
fulness than  a  supplement  to  the  reading^  It  is  better  to  omit  history 
altogether  than  to  teach  it  in  the^jold-fashipned  way,  by  setting  pupils 
painfully  to  reproduce  the  words  of  a  text-book,  without  comment  or 
suggestion  on  the  teacher's  part.  The  first  duty  of  the  teacher  is  to 
emphasize  the  essential  points  in  the  book,  to  show,  if  possible,  what 
is  the  main  thing  worth  remembering  in  the  lesson  of  the  day.  It  is 
also  a  duty  to  point  out  things  which  the  writer  of  the  text-book  has 
inserted,  but  which,  in  the  teacher's  judgment,  may  safely  be 


190       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

neglected.  Few  teachers  have  the  courage  to  do  what  a  member  of 
the  Conference  recently  saw  done  in  class :  to  tell  the  children  to 
"pass  over  Ap'pius  Claudius  and  the  sacred  chickens  because  they 
were  of  little  account."  The  teacher  may  have  underestimated  the 
historical  value  of  legend  ;  but  she  sent  home  to  the  minds  of  her 
pupils  the  wholsomee  thought  that^ot  all  is  essential  that  appears 
in  printy 

Again,  the  questions  in  a  recitation  ought  not  to  demand  from  the 
pupils  a  bald  repetition  of  the  phrases  or  ideas  of  the  book,  but 
ought  to  call  for  comparison  and  comment.  The  questions  ought 
constantly  to  go  forward  and  backward,  to  bring  up  points  of  com- 
parison from  previous  lessons,  and  to  bring  in  illustrations  from  other 
parallel  subjects.  A  course  in  American  history  may  be  made  doubly 
interesting  by  frequent  cross  references  to  previously  studied  Greek 
and  Roman  history  ;  and  a  course  in  English  history  is  enriched  by 
illustrations  from  English  literature.  Here  is  the  place  where  the 
teacher's  superior  knowledge  and  training  tells  ;  here  is  the  place  also 
for  stirring  up  the  minds  of  the  pupils. 

How  far  should  pupils  be  expected  to  memorize?  "  A  few  things 
should  be  learned  by  heart  and,  when  forgotten,  learned  again,  to  serve 
as  a  firm  ground  work  upon  which  to  group  one's  knowledge  :  without 
knowing  the^succession  of  dynasties,  or  of  sovereigns,  or  of  presi- 
dents, or  the  dates  of  the  great  constitutional  eventsythe  pupil's  stock 
of  information  will  have  no  more  form  than  a  jelly-fish."  But  those 
few  necessary  facts  ought  to  be  clearly  defined  as  only  a  framework 
to  assist  the  memory .  The  pupil's  stock  of  material  is  to  be  kept  in 
mind  not  by  calling  for  it  in  glib  recitations  devoid  of  thought,  but 
bv  constantly  framing  questions  which  will  require  for  an  answer  a 
knowledge  of  the  necessary  facts  ;  thus,  a  comparison  between  Henry 
VIII  and  Charles  I  requires  a  pupil  to  remember  the  essential  dates 
and  events  of  both  reigns,  and  their  relations  of  cause  and  effect. 


29.  Further  Suggestions  as  to  Recitations. 

An  excellent  suggestion  is  that  of  "  op^n__text^book  recitations," 
in  which  with  their  books  before  them,  pupils  are  asked  questions  on 
cause  and  effect,  on  relations  with  previous  lessons,  etc.  ;  answers 
may,  if  necessary,  be  written  out  and  corrected  in  class.  Such  an 
exercise  trains  pupils  to  take  in  the  thought  of  a  printed  page,  and 
to  grasp  the  essential  points. 

Such  a  system  tends  to  encourage  the  habit  of  applying  what  one 
knows  to  a  new  problem.  Still  more  helpful  in  the  same  direction 
are  the  off-hand  discussions  and  impromptu  debates  which  spring  up 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       191 

in  an  eager  class  and  which  should  be  encouraged  by  every  good 
teacher. 

In  man}T  schools  there  are  systems  of  review,  too  often  perfunctory 
repetitions  of  what  was  dull  when  first  recited.  Some  system  is  per- 
haps necessary  to  recall  the  attention  to  the  relations  of  the  parts  of 
the  subject.  Two  helpful  substitutes  for  the  ordinary  review  may 
be  mentioned.  The  first  is  that  of  "fluent  recitations."  "The 
pupil  is  given  the  entire  subject,  for  instance  the  Homeric  Age,  the 
Conquest  of  Italy  by  Rome,  the  Early  Norman  Kings,  the  New 
England  Colonies.  To  recite  these  '  fluents'  are  the  special  glory  of 
the  class  ;  the  brilliant  recitation  that  holds  the  interest  of  all  the 
pupils,  although  the  subject  is  familiar,  is  one  that  is  especially  prized. 
After  the  '  fluent'  is  finished  it  is  criticised  as  to  matter  and  manner  ; 
the  English,  the  attitude,  and  intonation  of  the  reciter  all  coming 
under  fire,  as  well  as  the  historical  matter." 

The  second  device  is  thus  described.  "  But  a  very  important  part  of 
the  work  yet  remains  —  the  fixing  of  the  whole  indeliblj'  on  the  mind. 
This  is  attempted  by  what  ....  are  called  '  cards'  i.  e.  a  raking  fire 
of  short,  sharp  questions  every  morning  to  which  a  prompt  direct 
answer  is  required,  or  the  dread  '  next,'  '  next,'  '  next '  is  heard.  To 
fail  in  cards  is  thought  a  great  disgrace,  for  they  are  taken  up  only 
when  the  subject  has  been  most  carefully  explained,  and  failure  in 
them  is  an  evidence  of  unfaithfulness  on  the  part  of  the  pupil."  .... 
These  systems  are  admirable  if  applied  so  as  to  teach  pupils  to 
combine  what  they  know,  and  to  bring  their  knowledge  to  bear  on 
unforeseen  problems. 

Another  form  of  recitation  is  the  written  exercise  repeated  at  fre- 
quent intervals  :  a  single,  properly  framed  question  given  at  the  begin- 
ning or  end  of  each  recitation,  with  ten  minutes  to  answer  it  in 
writing,  'will  train  pupils  in  the  habit  of  combining  and  applying 
their  own  information.  For  such  an  exercise  questions  involving 
comparison  are  well  adapted.  A  good  question  -would  be,  to  make 
up  a  list  of  the  sovereigns  of  England  who  were  born  out  of  the 
realm  ;  or,  after  a  lesson  on  the  English  in  India,  might  come  the 
question  whether  the  occupation  of  India  had  been  a  good  thing  for 
the  English  nation. 

The  blackboard  is  used  in  some  schools  ;  the  recitation  begins 
with  an  analysis  of  the  subject  for  the  day,  prepared  by  the  teacher, 
and  written  out  beforehand,  or  written  by  a  pupil  in  the  presence  of 
the  class.  This,  of  course,  emphasizes  the  teacher's  own  subdivision 
of  the  subject,  as  contrasted  with  that  of  the  text-book,  and  breaks 
up  the  feeling  that  facts  in  order  to  be  accurate  can  be  stated  in  only 
one  order.  A  few  text-books  have  been  prepared  with  topical 


192      HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,   AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

analyses  of  this  kind,  and  in  a  good  school  pupils  are  sometimes 
called  upon  themselves  to  prepare  a  suitable  analysis  for  the  criticism 
of  the  teacher  and  of  the  class  (§  32). 

To  sum  up  their  recommendations  on  this  point,  the  Conference 
is  of  the  opinion  that  text-books  must  continue  to  be  used,  but  that 
they  should  be  carefully  selected,  and  that  the  pupil  should  have  the 
constant  use  of  at  least  two  different  books  ;  that  the  recitations  upon 
them  should  not  consist  of  an  historical  catechism,  but  should  be 
made  up  of  suggestive  questions  requiring  a  comparison  and  com- 
bination of  different  parts  of  the  pupil's  material ;  and  that  the 
proper  relations  and  proportions  of  that  material  may  be  promoted 
by  some  system  of  rapid  recitation,  with  criticism  by  teacher  and 

class. 

30.   Reading. 

Recitations  alone,  however,  cannot  possibly  make  up  proper  teach- 
ing of  history.  It  is  absolutely  necessary,  from  the  earliest  to  the 
last  grades,  that  there  should  be  parallel  reading  of  some  kind.  In 
Resolution  19  we  recommend:  "That  in  the  first  two  years  oral 
instruction  in  biography  and  mythology  should  be  supplemented  by 
the  reading  of  simple  biographies  and  mythological  stories."  The 
numerous  historical  readers  and  selections  of  stories  and  poems  now 
offer  a  large  amount  of  suitable  introductory  matter ;  when  regular 
text-book  work  begins,  this  system  of  rjarallel  reading  should  be  con- 
tinued. "The  sooner  we  can  get  a  boy  into  touch  with  something 
else  than  a  hand  book,  the  better."  This  principle  is  expressed  in 
Resolution  21.  "  That  pupils  should  be  required  to  read  or  learn  one 
other  account  besides  that  of  the  text-book,  on  each  lesson."  Such 
parallel  reading  must  necessarily  take  two  forms :  in  the  first  place, 
the  use  of  distinct  historical  literature  bearing  immediately  on  the 
subject  in  hand  ;  and,  secondly,  the  use  of  miscellaneous  literature, 
poems,  historical  novels,  and  biographies. 

The  system  of  more  elaborate  reading  is  well  described  as  follows : 
"The  class  work  should  be  as  elastic  as  possible,  that  it  may  adapt 
itself  to  the  different  kinds  of  minds.  I  must  surely  give  my  brightest 
pupils  food  enough,  for  a  teacher's  greatest  fault  is  starving  her 
children,  yet  I  must  not  crowd  the  weaker  ones.  .  .  .  Certain  books 
bearing  upon  the  subject  in  hand  are  designated  to  the  pupils  ;  every 
one  is  required  to  read  something  outside  her  daily  work,  and  the 
better  scholars  are  expected  to  read  more.  A  special  report  of  the 
work  done  is  handed  in  Monday  morning,  with  the  private  note-books 
containing  a  topical  analysis  of  what  has  been  read  and  original 
remarks  upon  it.  The  reports  and  note-books  are  examined  and 
commented  upon  by  the  teacher." 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       193 


31.  Material  for  Reading. 

Such  a  system,  of  course,  requires  a  considerable  school  library. 
Out  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  high  schools  whose  methods  have 
been  examined,  only  about  fifty  appear  to  have  a  good  library  of 
ordinary  reference  books,  and  only  about  forty  a  general  librar}'  of 
comparative  historical  literature.  Yet  to  provide  a  collection  of 
books  suitable  for  school  work  is  not.  an  expensive  process :  one 
hundred  dollars,  or  fifty  dollars,  or  even  twenty  dollars  properly 
applied,  will  furnish  a  reserve  of  historical  literature  for  the  use  of 
the  pupil. 

In  addition,  of  course,  every  special  subject  ought  to  have  a  little 
galaxy  of  standard  books  grouped  about  it.  Resolution  27  reads : 
"  That  a  collection  of  reference  books,  as  large  as  the  means  of  the 
school  allow,  should  be  provided  for  every  school,  suitable  for  use  in 
connection  with  all  the  historical  work  done  in  that  school."  Where- 
ever  public  libraries  exist,  it  is  almost  always  possible  to  arrange  for 
their  use  by  the  pupils  of  the  public  schools  ;  and  in  a  few  favored 
places  like  Albany,  there  are  special  reference  libraries  of  great  value 
for  historical  work.  Something  may  often  be  accomplished  by  making 
out  a  list  of  desirable  books  and  asking  each  pupil  either  to  buy  one 
or  to  contribute  to  the  purchase  of  one  :  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
a  considerable  library  may  thus  be  brought  together.  Every  school 
board  which  is  willing  to  buy  chemical  and  plrysical  apparatus, 
may  be  brought  to  such  a  state  of  grace  that  it  will  buy  reference 
books. 

The  main  necessity  is  that  teachers  should  have  it  firmly  fixed  in 
their  minds  that  it  is  as  impossible  to  teach  history  without  reference 
books,  as  it  is  to  teach  chemistry  without  glass  and  rubber  tubing. 
This  s}*stem  may  also  be  so  arranged  as  to  create  in  the  minds  of 
pupils  a  desire  to  possess  and  use  books,  which  will  do  much  to  break 
the  monotony  of  their  lives  and  to  cultivate  the  habit  of  judicious 
expenditure.  The  time  has  been  when  in  the  houses  of  many  intelli- 
gent families,  educated  in  the  common-schools,  and  reading  news- 
papers regularly,  almost  the  only  books  were  the  Bible  and  a  Patent 
Office  Report.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  schools  to  make  the  return  of 
such  conditions 'impossible.  Where  expensive  collections  of  docu- 
ments can  not  be  had,  the  sets  of  leaflets,  which  are  now  issued  in  a 
variety  of  forms  and  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  may  be  used,  at  a  smaller 
expense. 

Another  sort  of  illustrative  reading  may  take  the  form  of  special 
exercises  in  literature,  such  as  the  study  of  poems  on  American  colo- 
nial life  in  connection  with  American  history ;  or  of  Chaucer  with 
13 


194       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

English  history.  We  feel  hesitation  with  reference  to  historica\ 
novels :  the  natural  tendency  is  to  skip  the  history  in  them  or  to 
receive  a  false  historical  impression  if  the  history  is  accepted. 
Nevertheless,  there  are  standard  historical  novels  which  will  always 
be  read,  and  which  will  always  leave  an  approximately  correct 
picture  of  the  times  which  they  describe.  It  goes  without  saying, 
that  pupils  should  be  encouraged  to  read  general  historical  literature 
at  home,  outside  of  any  immediate  connection  with  their  studies. 
Only  about  one-half  of  the  students  who  enter  one  of  our  great 
colleges  have  read  at  least  one  work  of  such  historians  as  Prescott, 
Macaulay,  Irving,  Green,  or  Bancroft. 


32.   Written  Work. 

The  written  exercises  required  in  connection  with  history  vary  all 
the  way  from  a  page  of  a  note-book  to  an  elaborate  study  from  the 
sources.  In  two  ways  such  exercises  tend  to  the  education  of  pupils  : 
!  they  give  excellent  practice  in  the  collection  and  selection  of  mate- 
rial, and  they  afford  an  invaluable  training  in  judgment  and  in 
accuracy  of  statement.  Besides  the  written  recitations  already  de- 
scribed above  (§28),  some  teachers  require  notes  and  abstracts  of 
analyses  to  be  made  up  from  books.  "  Collateral  readings  in  history 
are  assigned  and  reported  on.  Another  exercise  is  the  so-called 
written  analysis,  in  which  having  gone  over  the  ground  of  the  lesson 
a  pupil  is  sent  to  the  board  and  w.ites  an  analysis  of  the  lesson  ;  his 
selection  of  topics  is  then  criticized  by  the  class,  and  the  form  of 
expression  is  altered  until  put  into  the  .  .  .  most  striking  phrase- 
ology. .  .  .  This  exercise  in  analysis  I  find  of  the  utmost  value  ;  it 
trains  the  children  in  discrimination  between  the  essential  and  unes- 
sential, in  putting  facts  in  the  right  perspective ;  it  teaches  them  to 
handle  books  ...  its  tabular  arrangement  shows  at  a  glance  the 
bearing  of  each  part  upon  the  whole.  .  .  .  The  page  of  topics  is  also 
an  essential  help  to  the  memory,  hence  is,  psychologically,  a  valuable 
device  for  younger  pupils."  Another  system  is  to  call  for  "special 
reports,"  brief  and  summarized  statements  upon  a  subject  specially 
assigned.  Such  work  in  most  schools  would,  of  course,  be  based  on 
secondary  authorities  ;  but  the  arrangement  and  the  results  should  be 
the  pupil's  own.  The  subject  of  such  a  written  report  should  be  suffi- 
ciently minute,  so  that  the  pupil  may  learn  all  that  is  worth  knowing 
in  the  authorities  at  hand  (§  33).  One  form  of  this  written  work  may 
be  the  requirement  to  prepare  a  bibliography  of  all  the  references  avail- 
able on  an  assigned  subject.  This  is  particularly  applicable  to  biog- 
raphies of  public  men  ;  and  the  results  thus  obtained  may  be  left  on 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       195 

file  and  may  be  referred  to  for  later  reports.    The  method  tends  to  train 
pupils  to  use  bibliographical  aids,  the  short-cuts  to  historical  material. 

The  second  general  system  of  written  work  in  connection  with 
history  is  set  forth  in  Resolution  23  :  "  That  the  teaching  of  history 
should  be  intimately  connected  with  the  teaching  of  English  .  .  . 
by  writing  English  compositions  on  subjects  drawn  from  the  historical 
lessons."  In  few  schools  has  this  connection  between  the  two 
kindred  branches  been  established.  The  necessary  work  of  reading 
parallel  references  may  thus  be  made  to  serve  a  double  turn,  and  the 
amount  of  'reading  may  be  correspondingly  increased.  Your  Con- 
ference need  not  dwell  upon  the  importance  of  such  a  connection, 
as  developing  both  the  power  of  expression,  and  the  power  of 
dealing  with  historical  material. 

33.    The  Topical  Method. 

The  third  general  system  of  written  work  is  the  preparation  of 
topics;  Resolution  22  reads:  "That  the  method  of  study  by  topics 
be  strongly  recommended,  as  tending  to  stimulate  pupils  and  to  en- 
courage independence  of  judgment."  Resolution  26  adds  :  "  That  in 
all  practicable  ways,  an  effort  should  be  made  to  teach  the  pupils  in 
the  later  years  to  discriminate  between  authorities,  and  especially 
between  original  sources  and  secondary  works."  It  is  not  expected 
that  pupils  in  grammar  or  high  schools  are  to  be  historical  writers,  or 
that  they  are  to  suppose  that  they  are  carrying  out  historical  investi- 
gation to  its  widest  extent ;  but  we  confidently  and  urgently  recom- 
mend the  use  of  this  historical  method  because  of  its  peculiar 
educational  value.  It  is  the  system  in  use  in  German  schools  of  a 
corresponding  grade,  and  accounts  in  part  for  the  development  of 
historical  investigation  in  that  country. 

One  year  of  the  eight-year  course  has  been  set  apart  for  what  has 
been  called  il  the  intensive  study  of  history,"  i.  e.,  the  more  minute 
and  careful  stud}7  of  some  limited  period,  with  as  much  use  of  the 
sources  as  is  practicable.  (§  15.)  The  topical  system  can,  of 
course,  be  applied  in_that  year,  but  it  is  'applicable  throughout  the 
course,  especially  in  the  latter  half.  The  first  point  to  notice  is,  that 
the  topical  method  requires  the  pupils  to  do  part  of  the  work,  and,  in 
well  advanced  courses,  it  may  very  sensibly  relieve  the  teacher  from 
the  necessity  of  minute  investigation  of  the  whole  ground  for  himself. 
In  the  next  place,  the  topical  method  may  be  so  employed  as  to 
introduce  the  pupil  to  the  sources,  which  are  the  life  of  history. 

Two  sorts  of  work  are  combined  under  the  single  title  of  the 
topical  method.  In  the  first  place  it  ma}'  be  used  as  a  s}Tstem  of 


196       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.    . 

-  division  of  labor,  the  topics  taken  together  covering  substantially  the 
>b  whole  ground  of  the  course  ;  and  recitations  may  then  be  held  upon 
the  topics,  taking  advantage  of  the  special  preparation  of  one 
student  on  each  topic.  "  In  selecting  topics,  care  should  be  taken 
to  make  them  cover  only  one  simple  subject.  Questions  should  not 
be  assigned  about  which  no  definite  information  is  to  be  had.  .  .  . 
Biography  lends  itself  easily  to  this  method  ;  an}'  number  of  subjects 
of  about  equal  difficulty  may  be  found,  and  it  is  easy  to  secure  a 
lucid,  well  arranged  report.  Where  the  topics  are  numerous,  the 
teacher  owes  it  to  his  pupils  to  give  them  a  good  outfit  of  specific 
directions  and  specific  references  ;  for  an  occasional  theme  it  is  an 
excellent  plan  to  turn  a  pupil  loose  into  a  library  ;  but  where  he  is 
expected  to  learn  something  valuable  about  his  topic  in  a  short  time, 
he  must  not  be  discouraged  by  the  mass  of  books ;  he  must  have  his 
clue.  .  .  .  The  return  of  the  work  in  the  precise  outward  form 
required  should  be  insisted  upon,  because  it  is  of  much  importance  to 
be  able  to  put  information  into  a  shape  useful  to  another  person,  and 
the  labor  of  handling  the  papers  is  thus  greatly  reduced,  There  is 
plenty  of  room  for  personality  in  the  choice  of  books  and  the  selec- 
tion and  arrangement  of  facts.  Great  care  must  be  taken  to  prevent 
the  pupil  from  simply  reproducing  what  he  finds  in  one  or  several 
books.  From  the  very  outset  the  pupil  should  be  taught  always  to 
append  a  brief  bibliographical  note,  setting  forth  the  source  of  his 
information  and  giving  exact  references  to  volume  and  page.  Bright 
scholars  may  criticize  each  other's  work ;  and  the  selection  of  the 
best  papers  to  be  read  in  class  will  be  a  reward."  The  method  thus 
described  in  general  terms  is  widely  applicable  to  schools  of  almost 
every  grade  in  which  history  can  be  taught  at  all.  Perhaps  the 
principal  objection  is  the  necessary  correction  of  the  written  work ; 
here,  as  in  other  written  exercises,  a  great  deal  may  be  done  by 
exchanging  papers  among  the  pupils  and  calling  for  criticism  of  pupil 
upon  pupil ;  or  by  taking  up  topical  exercises  and  criticising  them  in 
class  with  the  help  of  the  class. 

The  second  purpose  of  the  topical  method  is  the  study  of 
sources.  Says  a  member  of  the  Conference:  '"The  original  sources 
are  often  more  delightful  reading  than  the  most  striking  descriptions 
of  Gibbon,  or  Taine,  or  Macaulay,  and  in  many  cases  quite  as  ready 
at  hand.  The  real  short-cut  which  leaves  hundreds  of  volumes  of 
formal  history  at  one  side,  if  we  are  really  intent  upon  getting  the 
greatest  good  from  our  work,  lies  through  the  study  of  the  sources. 
Unconsciously  moulded  as  these  are  by  the  spirit  of  the  time  in  which 
they  were  written,  every  line  gives  by  innuendo  an  insight  into  the 
period  which  the  author  certainly  never  intended,  and  which  volumes 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.        11)7 

of  analysis  can  never  reproduce.  The  mere  information,  too,  comes 
in  a  form  which  we  cannot  forget  if  we  try."  No  part  of  historical 
education  does  so  much  to  train  the  pupil  as  the  search  for  material, 
the  weighing  of  evidence,  and  the  combining  of  the  results  thus 
obtained  in  a  statement  put  into  a  form  useful  to  other  persons. 
Collections  of  suitable  material  are  already  numerous,  and  are  rapidly 
increasing.  To  make  such  a  system  successful  it  is  necessary  that 
no  two  members  of  a  given  class  shall  have  the  same  topic ;  this 
precaution  gives  to  the  pupil  the  agreeable  sense  of  a  separate  and 
independent  piece  of  investigation.  Of  course  the  topics  must  be 
veiy  limited  in  scope ;  the  writing  of  elaborate  theses  and  mono- 
graphs in  the  schools  is  not  to  be  commended ;  all  the  good  results 
can  be  had  by  a  succession  of  brief  pieces.  The  material  to  be 
used  may  comprise  the  local  records,  which,  in  the  towns  possess- 
ing them,  have  seldom  been  carefully  used.  Occasionally  families 
have  a  little  store  of  manuscripts ;  or  such  collections  are  to  be 
found  in  local  libraries.  The  main  dependence,  however,  must 
always  be  on  printed  records  such  as  the  Colonial  Records  of  the 
older  States  of  the  Union  ;  the  calendars  of  British  State  papers  ;  the 
State  and  national  statutes ;  the  United  States  printed  collections  of 
documents ;  the  correspondence  and  other  writings  of  statesmen ; 
elaborate  biographies  and  reminiscences,  town  and  count}'  histories ; 
periodicals  and  old  newspapers.  The  work  is  within  the  reach  of 
good  teachers,  without  very  elaborate  or  expensive  apparatus. 


34.    Illustrative  Methods. 

All  methods  of  teaching  history  may  be  made  more  effective  by 
having  the  proper  surroundings,  and  by  making  use  of  illustrations 
drawn  from' the  experience  of  the  community.  An  attractive  class- 
room is  an  incentive  to  historical  study.  In  many  schools  something 
may  be  done  b}'  encouraging  the  pupils  to  bring  in  historical  pic- 
tures ;  these  may  be  of  every  degree  of  value  from  rough  wood-cuts 
taken  out  of  daily  papers  to  portraits  and  engravings  of  historical 
scenes,  and  photographs  of  famous  places  or  buildings.  In  one 
school  the  teacher  has  a  large  collection  of  pictures  cut  from  illus- 
trated newspapers  and  pasted  on  cards.  In  choosing  text-books  care 
ought  always  to  be  taken  to  see  that  its  illustrations,  if  there  are 
any,  represent  something  real ;  pupils  are  sometimes  quick  to  see 
historical  inconsistencies.  A  picture  in  a  well  known  historical  text- 
book purports  to  represent  Braddock's  headquarters ;  but  in  the 
foreground  is  a  flag-staff  with  the  stars  and  stripes  displayed.  The 
use  of  the  magic  lantern  is  becoming  more  and  more  common  as  a 


198       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

means  of  instruction,  ana  where  schools  have  not  the  opportunity  to 
make  a  collection  of  slides  for  themselves,  they  may  often  call  in 
lecturers  for  occasional  illustrated  talks,  or  may  avail  themselves  of 
University  Extension  or  other  courses  of  lectures. 

Next  in  importance  come  accounts  of  historical  places  from  those 
who  have  visited  them.  An}'  class  may  be  interested  in  an  account 
of  the  city  of  Washington  and  of  the  Houses  of  Congress  in  session, 
especially  if  illustrated  by  graphic  aids.  In  many  places,  however, 
the  historic  scenes  are  at  hand,  and  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  point 
them  out  to  the  class,  although  not  every  city  is  so  fortunate  as  that 
which  possesses  the  Washington  elm,  the  Longfellow  house,  and  the 
James  Russell  Lowell  mansion.  The  study  of  history  may  also  be 
made  a  means  for  those  rambling  excursions  which  should  do  much 
for  the  health  of  the  children.  Where  historical  places  are  lacking 
there  are  often  interesting  collections ;  the  larger  cities  have  art 
museums,  which  are  invaluable  for  the  light  they  throw  upon  ancient 
histoiy ;  and  many  cities  have  libraries  with  rare  and  interesting 
books.  Everywhere  there  is  the  opportunity  of  illustrating  history 
and  particularly  civil  government,  by  the  local  government  of  the 
place  (§18). 

Another  means  of  illustration  is  to  set  debates  on  subjects  which 
occur  in  the  lessons.  School  debating  societies"  are  very  common, 
and  might  be  made  still  more  instructive,  if  pains  were  taken  always 
to  set  questions  which  permitted  the  debaters  to  use  their  own  judg- 
ment and  knowledge.  An  excellent  device  in  such  debates  is  to 
require  each  side  to  submit  preliminary  written  briefs,  with  arguments 
arranged  in  logical  form  and  provided  with  specific  reference  to 
authorities.  Of  a  similar  value  are  mock  legislatures,  parliaments, 
conventions,  and  diplomatic  congresses,  —  an  interesting  form  of 
object  lessons.  (§18.) 

Finally,  history  ought  constantly  to  be  illustrated  by  reference  to 
the  lives  of  great  men.  This  is  the  opportimitj-  for  ethical  training. 
Boys  who  cannot  understand  the  development  of  the  Athenian  con- 
stitution, and  who  painfully  learn  and  easily  forget  the  military 
details  of  the  Greek  wars,  may  be  animated  with  interest  over 
Themistocles,  or  Cicero,  or  Charlemagne,  or  Luther,  or  John  Wilkes, 
or  John  C.  Calhoun,  or  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  Germany,  the  pupil 
"goes  over  universal  history  three  times  in  as  many  different  ways. 
The  first  time,  all  history  is  encompassed  by  what  may  be  called  the 
biographical  method."  Biography  is  not  all  of  history,  because  even 
the  incidents  of  great  lives  are  important  chiefly  in  their  relations  to 
each  other  ;  but  biography  clings  to  the  memory,  and  a  later,  more  sys- 
tematic stud}*  will  show  the  connection  with  national  development. 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.        109 

35.    Historical  Geography. 

"  Geography,  the  twin  sister  of  history,  has,  as  yet,  had  but  a  cold 
reception  in  the  historical  fami^ ;  only  about  one  half  the  schools 
make  the  stud}'  what  it  should  be,  an  essential  and  integral  part  of 
the  study  of  ever}*  period."     Our  recommendation  on  this  subject  is 
set  forth  in  Resolution  25,  "  That  the  study  of  history  should  be  con-"l 
stantly  associated  with  the  study  of  topography  and  political  geog-  / 
raphy,  and  should  be  supplemented  by  the  study  of  historical  and 
commercial  geography,  and  the  drawing  of  historical  maps." 

This  resolution   suggests  three  directions  in  which  the  study  of 
geography  may  be  made  a  helpful  adjunct  to  history.     In  the  first 
place,  from  the  beginning  of  geographical  study,  attention  should  be 
paid  to  the  physical  outline  of  each  country,  not  only  with  reference  to 
its  productions,  but  to  the  movement  of  races,  the  progress  of  settle- 
ment, and  the  establishment  of  centres  of  population.     For  instan 
it  should  be  shown  how  the  commercial  greatness  of  Chicago  and  of 
New  York  depend  on  a  simple  fact  in  American  physical  geography 
—  their  position  at  the  head  and  foot  of  a  system  of  water  communi- 
cation ;    the  indented  coast   of    New  England   should   suggest  how  V 
thrifty  little  sea-ports  came  to  be  established  there  ;  the  relation  of  the    / 
Vosges  Mountains  to  the  Alps  is  a  guide  to  the  successive  migra^J/ 
tions  of   nations  across  Europe.     From  the  beginning,  the  teacher 
should   attempt   to  ^connect    physical   geography   with   the    present 
political  condition  of  the  world  ;  and,  in  like  manner,  the  study  of  / 
political  geography  should  constantly  bring  in  the  physical  features.  ^ 

The  second  geographical  method  consists  in  putting  before  pupils 
for  constant  use  wall-maps  a,nd^  historical  atlases.  So  little  is  this 
necessity  understood  that  in  no  other  civilized  country  are  good  and 
cheap  maps' so  rare  ;  and  our  school  atlases  are  notoriously  inferior  to*'" 
those  of  Frnnce  and  Germany.  In  the  use  of  maps,  good  or  bad, 
there  is  an  opportunity  for  the  use  of  judgment ;  a  mere  reference  to 
a  place  on  a  map  on  which  the  surface  shows  no  physical  relief  does 
little  to  impress  its  position.  For  instance,  the  important  geographical 
fact  about  the  city  of  Rome  is  not  that  it  lay  in  Latium,  rather  than 
in  Etruria,  but  that  it  could  control  the  trade  of  the  Tiber  valley,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  was  so  far  inland  as  to  be  free  from  attacks  of 
pirates.  The  reason  for  its  growth  once  learned,  the  site  will  never 
be  forgotten.  An  excellent  system  in  class  is  for  a  pupil  to  follow 
the  recitation,  pointing  out  on  the  wall-map  the  places  as  they  are 
mentioned  by  the  reciter. 

A  third  and  very  efficient  method  of  geographical  training  is  the  use 
of  outline  maps.     "We  buy  outlines,"  says  a  teacher,  "and  strive 


200       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

to  set  forth  upon  them  as  many  subjects  as  lend  themselves  to  such 
modes  of  representation.     I  should  be  at  loss,  without  them,  to  make 
attractive  the  geography  of  Greece  with  its  multitude  of  new  names 
so  hard  to  the  junior  mind,  the  migrations,  the  different  eras  of  colon- 
ization, etc.     But  with  maps  it  becomes  very  pleasant  work.     Maps 
| are  also  especially  interesting  in  showing  the  development  and  decay 
>f  the  Roman  empire,  and  the  rise  and  growth  of  modern  nations.  .  .  . 
'In^very  recitation  in  history  every  child  has  an  open  atlas  upon  his 
desk,  and  not  only  are  all  the  places  carefully  looked  up,  but  the 
effects  of  physical  environments  are  constantly  noted."     By  outline 
r  maps  is  not   here  meant  the  exasperating  system  of  skewering  the 
f    boundaries  of  countries  upon  an  artificial  geometrical  scaffolding  ;  but 
'    the  use  ofi(maps  having  printed  upon  them  the  simple  outlines  of  the 
country,  the  pupil  to  insert  important  places  in  their  proper  relations/^ 
This  system  is  not  unreasonably  expensive,  and  pupils  should  be 
taught  to  feel  that  maps  thus  made  are  not  simp!}*  exercises  to  be 
thrown  away,  but  that  by  preserving  them  they  may  bring  together  a 
little  special  geographical  atlas  of  their  own.     Mere   copying  from 
larger  maps  is  an  exercise  without  discipline,  and  is  of  no  aid  to  the 
memory  ;  in  order  to  get  the  advantage  of  the  geographical  study 
each  child  must  make  up  his  map  from  a  variety  of  sources.     Map 
making  thus  becomes  a  kind  of  topical  work,  but  a  sort  in  which  most 
children  find  a  peculiar  delight  and  stimulus. 


VII.    SUMMARY. 

In  conclusion,  your  Conference  begs  to  recapitulate  a  few  of  the 
points  in  the  above  report  which  we  wish  especially  to  emphasize. 
We  believe  that  the  subjects  upon  which  we  have  reported  ought  to 
receive  at  least  as  much  attention  as  they  now  receive  in  the  best  and 
most  carefully  taught  schools,  and  considerably  more  than  in  the 
present  average  schools.  A  part  of  the  time  necessary  for  this  change 
can  be  had  by  bringing  the  stud}'  of  English  and  of  geography  into 
closer  relations  with  the  study  of  history.  We  strongly  urge  that  the 
historical  course  be  continuous  from  3'ear  to  year,  and  in  this  respect 
be  placed  upon  the  same  footing  as  other  substantial  subjects.  We 
urge  a  closer  co-ordination  of  the  work  in  civil  government  and 
political  economy  with  that  in  history.  We  especially  recommend 
such  a  choice  of  subjects  as  will  give  pupils  in  the  grammar  schools 
an  opportunity  to  study  tlie  history  of  other  countries,  and  to  the 
high  schools  one  year's  study  on  the  intensive  method. 

"As  to  methods,  we  have  to  suggest  only  the  use  of  the  methods 
which,  in  good  schools,  are  now  accustoming  pupils  to  think  for  them- 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       201 

selves,  to  put  together  their  own  materials,  to  state  their  results,  to 
compare  one  series  of  events  with  another  series  and  the  history  of 
one  country  with  that  of  another. 

Finally,  we  urge  that  only  teachers  who  have  had  adequate  special 
training  shall  be  employed  to  teach  these  important  subjects. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

CHARLES  KENDALL  ADAMS,  President  ofathe 
University  of  Wisconsin,  Chairman. 

EDWARD  G.  BOURNE,  Professor  of  History, 
Adelbert  College. 

ABRAM  BROWN,  Principal  of  the  Central  High 
School,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

RAY  GREENE  RULING,  Principal  of  the  High 
School,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 

JESSE  MACY,  Professor  of  Political  Science, 
Iowa  College. 

JAMES  HARVEY  ROBINSON,  Associate  Profes- 
sor of  European  History,  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

WILLIAM  A.  SCOTT,  Assistant  Professor  of 
Political  Economy,  University  of  Wisconsin. 

HENRY  P.  WARREN,  Head  Master  of  The  Albany 
Academy. 


WOODROW  WILSON,  Professor  of  Jurisprudence 
and  Political  Economy,  Princeton  College. 


ALBERT  BUSHNELL  HART,  Assistant  Professor 
of  History,  Harvard  University,  Secretary, 


202       HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,   AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

APPENDIX. 

ANSWERS    TO    THE    QUESTIONS    OP    THE    COMMITTEE    OF    TEN. 

Specific  answers  to  the  nine  questions  may  be  found  by  referring 
to  the  report  and  accompanying  resolutions  as  follows : 

1.  In  the  school  course  of  study  extending  approximately  from  the 
age  of  six  years  to  eighteen  years  —  a  course  including  the  periods 
of  both  elementary  and  secondary  instruction  —  at  what  age  should 
the  study  which  is  the  subject  of  the  Conference  be  first  introduced  ? 

At  about  nine  or  ten  }Tears  :  Resolutions  13,  14 ;  Report,  §  6. 

2.  After  it  is  introduced,  how  many  hours  a  week  for  how  many 
years  should  be  devoted  to  it? 

Not  less  than  three  exercises  per  week  during  eight  years ;  or, 
under  special  circumstances,  during  six  3'ears :  Resolutions  14-17; 
Report,  §§7-9. 

3.  How  many  hours  a  week  for  how  many  years  should  be  devoted 
to  it  during  the  last  four  years  of  the   complete  course  ;    that  is, 
during  the  ordinary  high  school  period? 

Three  hours  per  week  during  four  years  of  the  high  school  course  ; 
or,  in  special  circumstances,  three  years:  Resolutions  14-16; 
Report,  §§  8-10. 

4.  What   topics,    or   parts,    of   the    subject   may   reasonably    be 
covered  during  the  whole  course? 

This  question  is  answered  in  the  proposed  curriculum :  Resolu- 
tions 2-10,  14,  16  ;  Report,  §§  10,  16-19. 

5.  What  topics,  or  parts,  of  the  subject  may  best  be  reserved  for 
the  last  four  years? 

The  opinion  of  the  Conference  is  shown  by  the  curriculum  proposed  : 
Resolutions  13,  14,  16,  28-30  ;  Report,  §§  12-19. 

6.  In  what  form  and  to  what  extent  should  the  subject  enter  into 
college  requirements  for  admission?      Such  questions  as   the  suffi- 
ciency of  translations  at  sight  as  a  test  of  knowledge  of  a  language, 
or  the  superiority  of  a  laboratory  examination  in  a  scientific  subject 
to  a  written  examination  on  a  text-book,   are  intended  to  be  sug- 
gested under  this  head  by  the  phrase  "in  what  form?" 

Methods  of  college  examinations  are  suggested  in  Resolutions  32, 
33;  Report,  §§20,  21. 


HISTORY,  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT,  AND  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.       203 

7.  Should  the  subject  be  treated  differently   for  pupils    who  are 
going  to  college,  for  those  who  are  going  to  a  scientific  school,   and 
for  those  who,   presumably,  are  going  to  neither? 

We  are  unanimously  against  making  such  a  distinction :  Resolu- 
tion 31  ;  Report,  §§2,  11. 

8.  At    what    age    should    this    differentiation    begin,    if  any   be 
recommended  ? 

There  should  be  no  differentiation :  Resolution  31  ;  Report,  §§2,  11. 

9.  Can  any  description  be  given  of  the  best  method  of  teaching  this 
subject  throughout  the  school  course? 

The  subject  is  discussed  in  Resolutions  18-30  ;  Report,  §§  23-35. 
The  essentials  are :  trained  teachers ;  good  text-books  ;  suggestive 
recitations  ;  outside  reading ;  written  work,  especially  in  connection 
with  English  composition  ;  topical  study  ;  suitable  illustrative  material ; 
arid  historical  geography  intelligently  taught. 

10.  Can  any  description  be  given   of  the  best  mode  of  testing 
attainments  in  this  subject  at  college  admission  examinations? 

A  recommendation  of  examination  questions  requiring  thought  and 
the  acceptance  of  satisfactory  written  work  as  a  part  of  the  evidence 
of  preparation  appears  in  Resolutions  32,  33  ;  Report,  §§  20,  21. 

11.  For  those  cases  in  which  colleges  and  universities  permit  a 
division  of  the  admission  examination  into  a  preliminary  and  a  final 
examination,  separated  by  at  least  a  year,  can  the  best  limit  between 
the  preliminary  and  the  final  examinations  be  approximately  defined? 

The  Conference  suggests  that  history  be  reserved  for  the  final 
examinations  :  Resolution  34  ;  Report,  §  22. 


GEOGRAPHY. 

PRESIDENT   CHARLES  W.  ELIOT,  CHAIRMAN   OF   COMMITTEE  OF  TEN, 

NATIONAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  : — 

Dear  Sir, — The  members  of  the  Conference  on  geography  (embrac- 
ing geology  and  meteorology)  appointed  by  your  committee,  held 
sessions  on  December  28th,  20th  and  30th,  at  the  Cook  County  Normal 
School,  as  designated  by  you,  and  gave  careful  consideration  to  the 
questions  submitted  to  them.  They  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following 
report : — 

RELATIONS  OF  THE  SUBJECT. 

It  was  found  difficult  to  define  strictly  the  scope  of  geography  on 
account  of  its  intimate  relations  with,  and  gradations  into,  geological, 
meteorological,  zoological,  botanical,  historical,  political,  and  other 
sciences.  Geography  is  an  important  factor  in  all  these,  and  they  in 
turn  enter  as  factors  into  a  comprehensive  study  of  it.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  draw  any  sharp  divisional  lines,  and  the  Conference  have 
found  it  practicable  to  indicate  in  a  limited  degree  only,  by  sugges- 
tions, how  far  these  several  associated  subjects  should  be  brought 
into  the  study  of  geography,  as  such,  and  how  far,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  geographical  element  in  each  of  these  should  be  left  to  be  taught 
in  connection  with  them,  as  separate  sciences^  While  it  did  not  seem 
to  the  Conference  advisable  to  greatly  modify  the  range  of  subjects 
usually  embraced  under  the  term  geography,  the}'  recommend  a  more 
distinct  recognition  of  its  different  phases  and  some  modifications  of 
treatment  for  the  purpose  of  giving  these  greater  emphasis  and  more 
advantageous  relations  to  other  work,  as  indicated  below. 

FORMAL  DIVISIONS  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  SUBJECT. 

General  Elementary  Geography.  There  are  important  reasons  for 
devoting  the  work  of  the  earlier  and  intermediate  years  to  those 
features  of  geography  which  will  be  most  serviceable  to  the  majority 
of  pupils  without  regard  to  any  sharp  classification,  because  these  are 
the  only  years  during  which  many  pupils  remain  in  school.  The 
earlier  courses  should,  therefore,  treat  broadly  of  the  earth  and  its 
environment  and  inhabitants.  The  instruction  should  extend  freely 
into  fields  which  are  recognized  as  belonging  to  separate  sciences  in 
later  years  of  study.  It  should  deal  not  only  with  the  face  of  the 
earth  but  with  elementary  considerations  in  astronomy,  meteorology, 
zoology,  botany,  history,  commerce,  governments,  races,  religions, 


GEOGRAPHY.  205 

etc.,  so  far  as  these  are  connected  with  geography.  Unless  this 
admixture  of  subjects  is  included  under  the  elementary  courses 
of  geography  many  scholars  will  not  gain  a  knowledge  of  even  the 
outlines  of  these  important  subjects. 

Applied  Geography.  But  when  this  common  groundwork  is  laid, 
there  is  a  distinct  advantage  in  a  gradual  differentiation  of  the  sub- 
ject. Some  of  its  phases  may  be  best  disconnected  from  the  formal 
study  of  geography  and  taken  up  in  connection  with  the  subjects  to 
which  they  are  most  intimately  related.  For  example,  the  geograph- 
ical element  in  history  is  best  understood,  appreciated,  and  retained 
in  memory  when  taken  in  connection  with  historical  study.  The 
distribution  of  plants  and  animals  will  only  have  its  fullest  meaning 
when  studied  in  connection  with  the  nature  of  the  plants  and  animals 
themselves  ;  that  is,  as  a  phase  of  botany  or  zoology. 

Unfortunate^  our  works  in  botany  and  zoology  are  very  defective 
in  this  respect.  The  Conference  would  urge  that  this  serious  fault  be 
remedied. 

In  general,  all  forms  of  applied  geography  are  most  advantageously 
taken  in  connection  with  their  applications,  provided  that  a  general 
knowledge  of  elementary  geography  has  been  previously  acquired,  as 
indicated  above. 

Physical  Geography  and  Physiography.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
special  subject  of  geography  should  take  on  a  more  advanced  form 
and  should  relate  more  specifically  to  the  features  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face, the  agencies  that  produce  and  destroy  them,  the  environing" 
conditions  under  which  these  act,  and  the  physical  influences  by  which 
man  and  all  the  creatures  of  the  earth  are  so  profoundly  affected. 
This  has  usually  been  designated  physical  geography.  There  .is  an 
advanced  and  modernized  phase  of  it,  however,  which  the  majority  of 
the  committee  prefer  to  designate  pJusiograjrjhj,  not  because  the  name 
is  important,  but  because  it  emphasizes  a  special  and  important  phase 
of  the  subject  and  of  its  treatment.  The  scientific  investigations  of 
the  last  decade  have  made  very  important  additions  to  physiographic 
knowledge  and  methods  of  study.  These  are  indeed  so  radical  as 
to  be  properly  regaided,  perhaps,  as  revolutionar}'.  Unfortunately 
they  are  not  yet  incorporated  in  textbooks,  in  any  large  degree,  nor 
are  they,  even  in  scientific  treatises,  collected  into  a  form  readily 
available  for  the  use  of  the  teacher.  As  yet  they  are  widely  scattered 
through  various  scientific  publications.  But  this  condition  will  doubt- 
less be  improved  at  an  early  date.  Meanwhile,  it  is  thought  best  that 
physical  geography  should  be  taught,  by  the  aid  of  the  best  elemen- 
t&ry  textbooks  now  available,  as  the  last  geographic  course  previous 
to  the  high  school,  and  that  there  should  be  introduced  into  the  high- 


20H  GEOGRAPHY. 

school  course  either  physiography,  geology,  or  meteorolog}*  as  the 
representative  of  the  geographic  line  of  studies,  which  may  be  broadly 
characterized  as  that  which  relates  to  the  physical  environment  of 
man.  Possibly  more  than  one  of  these  may  be  practicable  in  some 
high  schools,  when  alternative  or  elective  studies  are  offered. 

As  this  line  of  study  develops  into  better  form  and  expression, 
physical  geography  will  probably  come  to  signify  a  stage  of  differen- 
tiation and  a  method  of  treatment  intermediate  between  that  of 
common  geography  and  that  of  physiography,  and  the  latter  will 
represent  that  more  advanced  treatment  which  belongs  to  the  higher 
courses.  But  without  regard  to  what  may  be  the  terminology  of  the 
future  (which  is  not  very  important  in  itself),  the  majority  of  the 
Conference  wish  to  impress  upon  the  attention  of  teachers  the  fact 
that  there  has  been  developed  within  the  past  decade  a  new  and  most 
important  phase  of  the  subject,  and  to  urge  that  they  hasten  to 
acquaint  themselves  with  it  and  bring  it  into  the  work  of  the  school- 
room and  of  the  field. 

/  The  ground  to  be  covered  by  physiography,  when  introduced  as  a 
'  high  school  study,  may  be  indicated  by  the  following  topics  : x  j  The 
wasting  of  the  land  surfaces,  the  transportation  of  the  waste  to  the 
sea,  and  its  deposition  on  the  marginal  sea  bottoms  ;  a  brief  account 
of  the  more  common  minerals  and  rocks  in  their  relation  to  wasting  ; 
the  changes  of  river  action  during  the  progress  of  land  denudation  ; 
the  relations  of  4akes,  waterfalls,  divides  and  their  migration,  flood- 
plains,  deltas,  etc.,  to  the  stage  of  river-development  in  which  they 
are  observed ;  the  development  of  shore  lines  and  the  variation 
of  their  features  under  the  long  continued  action  of  the  shore  waves ; 
| the  interruptions  of  the  normal  progress  of  denudation  and  shore 
'action  by  depression,  elevation,  or  deformation;  and  by  volcanic 
action  or  by  climatic  change,  including  briefly  the  effects  of  glacial 
action.  The  various  kinds  of  land  forms,  as  plains,  plateaus,  moun- 
tains, volcanoes,  should  be  considered  in  accordance  with  the  con- 
structional processes  involved  in  their  origin  and  with  the  system  of 
development  above  outlined  ;  and  their  distribution  over  the  earth 
should  be  briefly  sketched.  The  better  known  land  areas,  and  espe- 
cially our  home  country,  should  be  described  in  accordance  with  the 
development  of  the  various  geographical  elements  of  which  they  are 
constituted.  No  attempt  should  be  made  to  describe  the  whole 
world  in  this  way,  because  the  subject  is  too  large  for  high-school 
treatment ;  but  the  conviction  that  all  land  areas  are  constituted  of 
geographical  elements  in  various  stages  of  development  should  be 

1  The  subject  will  be  further  developed  under  the  head  of  method. 


GEOGRAPHY.  207 

enforced  by    frequent   mention   of    examples   of    different   kinds   in 
various, parts  of  the  world.     Sufficient  account  of  climate  should  be  • 
given  to  introduce  an  intelligent  consideration  of  the  conditions  that 
determine  the  distribution  of  life  ;  but  this  should  be  made  relatively 
subordinate  to  the  main  theme,  namely,  the  geography  of  the  lands. 

The  associated 'study  of  the  oceans  should  be  relatively  brief.  It 
should  give  a  condensed  account  of  the  ocean  basins,  recognizing  the 
deep  continuous  basins  of  the  great  oceans,  the  enclosed  mediterra- 
neans, and  the  continental  shelves  ;  of  the  conditions  of  the  ocean 
bottoms  ;  of  the  composition  and  deep-  currents  of  the  sea,  and  of 
the  tides.  The  relation  of  these  conditions  to  the  distribution  of 
oceanic  life  may  be  briefly  introduced. 

Unless  an  additional  course  on  meteorology  is  offered,  a  sufficient 
practical  use  of  the  weather  maps  should  be  introduced  into  the 
course  of  physiography  to  furnish  the  scholars  with  a  knowledge  of 
the  general  principles  of  weather  changes  and  forecasts. 

Meteorology.  Si  ce  the  establishment  of  the  national  Weather 
Bureau,  meteorology  has  not  only  been  greatly  advanced  as  a  system- 
atic science,  but  it  has  become  a  subject  of  wide  popular  interest. 
This,  together  with  its  importance  as  a  factor  of  geography,  moves 
the  committee  to  recommend  that  meteorology  be  introduced  as  an 
elective  study  for  half  a  year  in  the  third  or  fourth  year  of  the  high- 
school  course,  when  practicable.  Elementary  physics  should  precede 
it.  It  should  be  opened  by  local  observations  of  the  passing  weather 
changes,  accompanied  by  a  study  of  a  series  of  daily  weather  maps, 
and  the  application  of  physical  principles  to  explain  the  general 
phenomena  of  the  atmosphere  should  follow.  Local  observations 
should  be  carried  further  in  this  course  than  they  extended  in  earlier 
years,  especially  regarding  the  sequence  of  phenomena  in  the  atmos- 
phere and  the  correlation  of  various  weather  elements.  The  study  of 
weather  maps,  already  familiar  objects  from  the  less  s}rstematic  study 
of  earlier  years,  should  now  reach  to  the  clear  understanding  and 
description  of  the  distribution  of  temperature  and  pressure,  flow  of 
the  winds,  and  occurrence  of  clear,  cloudy,  rainy  or  snowy  areas ; 
and  to  a  careful  induction  of  generalizations  by  which  various  phe- 
nomena are  connected  ;  for  example,  the  correlation  of  the  direction 
and  velocity  of  the  winds  with  the  value  of  the  barometric  gradient ; 
or  of  areas  of  high  or  low  pressure  with  the  spiral  outflowing  or  in- 
flowing winds  and  the  areas  of  clear  or  cloudy  and  rainy  sky.  The 
effect  of  the  progression  of  these  areas  of  high  and  low  pressure  on 
local  weather  changes  and  their  value  in  weather  prediction  should  be 
made  clear  ;  practical  exercises  should  be  given  in  this  connection-,  as 
will  be  more  fully  explained  in  a  later  section.  During  the  advance 


208  GEOGRAPHY. 

of  local  observation  and  study  of  the  weather  maps,  instruction 
should  be  given  on  the  more  general  relations  of  the  science,  in  which 
the  following  headings  are  the  most  important :  Composition  and 
offices  of  the  atmosphere  ;  arrangement  of  the  atmosphere  around  the 
earth  under  the  action  of  gravity  ;  the  nature  of  solar  energy  and  its 
distribution  over  the  earth  and  through  the  year ;  the  different  action 
of  solar  energy  on  air,  land,  and  water  ;  the  mean  annual  and  seasonal 
distribution  of  temperature  over  the  earth  ;  the  processes  of  local  and 
general  convection  ;  evaporation,  humidity,  clouds,  rainfall;  the  dis- 
tribution of  atmospheric  pressure,  and  the  general  circulation  of  the 
atmosphere,  as  modified  by  the  annual  march  of  the  sun  north  and 
south,  and  by  the  influences  of  the  continents ;  storms,  both  cyclonic 
and  local ;  weather  changes  and  their  prediction  ;  climate,  zones,  and 
their  relation  to  habitation. 

Geology.  So  soon  as  it  shall  be  practicable  to  introduce  an  effec- 
tive course  in  modern  ph}'siography  into  the  high  school,  it  will 
probably  not  be  advisable  to  give  a  course  in  geolog}7  also,  except  in 
special  cases  where  the  teacher  is  unusualh'  well  prepared  to  teach 
the  subject  and  the  locality  affords  special  advantages.  At  present, 
however,  the  material  and  the  methods  of  geology  are  better  known 
to  teachers  than  those  of  either  physiography  (in  the  modern  sense) 
or  meteorology,  and  its  literature  is  in  better  form  for  school  use. 
Until,  therefore,  physiography  and  meteorology  are  developed  into 
good  working  forms  and  teachers  are  adequately  trained  in  them,  the 
Conference  recommend  that  geology  be  offered  as  an  elective  study  for 
a  half  year  in  the  last  }*ear  of  the  high  school.  Unless  either  physiog- 
raphy or  geology  is  retained  in  the  high  school  and  given  vitality 
and  efficienc}r,  a  serious  danger  threatens  the  whole  geographic  line 
of  stud}T  in  the  lower  schools,  for  the  great  mass  of  teachers  of 
geography  have  not  taken  courses  beyond  the  high  schools,  and  in 
the  immediate  future  are  not  likely  to  go  farther  with  their  education, 
and  if  they  are  not  taught  the  elementary  processes  and  principles  of 
these  sciences  there,  they  will  have  little  real  strength  as  teachers  of 
geography.  They  cannot  go  much  beyond  mere  facts  and  formalities. 
The  high  school  must  teach  those  things  that  are  necessary  to  give 
efficiency  to  teaching  in  the  lower  grades  or  that  teaching  will  suffer, 
for,  great  as  is  the  work  of  the  normal  schools  (and  it  should  be 
greatl}T  increased  and  its  value  urged  by  every  influence  at  command) 
they  cannot  supply  the  great  mass  of  teachers  for  the  primary, 
intermediate,  and  grammar  schools.  Temporarily,  therefore,  the 
Conference  recommend  that  geology  be  offered  as  an  elective,  in  the 
hope  that  soon  physiography  and  meteorology  ma}'  take  its  place, 
leaving  it  to  be  transferred  to  normal  schools  and  colleges. 


GEOGRAPHY.  209 

As  there  must  be  a  selection  of  topics,  the  committee  recommend 
that  the  nature  of  the  processes  involved  in  the  formation  and  modi- 
fication of  the  earth's  surface,  essentially  as  indicated  under  the  head 
of  physiography,  be  regarded  as  having  the  most  vital  importance 
both  to  the  general  student  and  the  prospective  teacher.  Practical 
instruction  in  the  field  on  surface  forms,  on  the  formation  and  natural 
occurrence  of  rocks,  and  on  fossils  should  form  a  part  of  the  work. 
Especial  attention  should  be  given  to  an  intelligent  interpretation  of 
the  textbook,  which  is  liable  to  be  meaningless  to  the  scholars  with- 
out it,  however  well  it  may  be  written.  This  can  be  done  best  by 
local  illustrations,  carefully  examined  by  the  class,  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  typical  conceptions  and  by  the  sUuty  of  cabinet  specimens. 
The  result  of  the  course  should  be  as  apparent  in  an  increased  appre- 
ciation of  the  facts  of  geolog}7  as  exhibited  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
school,  as  in  a  knowledge  of  the  general  truths  of  the  science  of 
world-wide  application. 

If,  however,  schools  are  not  prepared  to  treat  the  subject  with  real 
intelligence  and  effectiveness,  it  is  better  not  to. offer  it  at  all. 

The  natural  order  of  geographic  subjects  seems,  therefore,  to  be    "~1 
the  following  : 

1.  Elementary  Geography,  a  broad  treatment  of  the  earth  and  its 
inhabitants  and   institutions,  to   be   pursued   in  the  primary,  inter- 
mediate, and  lower  grammar  grades.    (^e^f^i^U^  ^ &d*ty<^(£*f 

2.  Physical  Geography,  a  more  special  but  still  broad  treatment  of 
the  physical  features  of  the  earth,  atmosphere  and  ocean,  and  of  the 
forms  of  life  and  their  physical   relations,   to  be  pursued  in  r  later 
grammar  grades.    Jt>&Csi&t£-+^ '.    C^-^^i^^L.    Cs&T^^fe&^&T^r 

3.  Physiography,  a  more  advanced  treatment  of  our  physical  envi-  " 
ronment  iii  which  the  agencies  and  processes  involved,  the  origin, 
development,  and  decadence  of  the  forms  presented,  and  the  signifi- 
cance  of   the    features  of  the  earth's  face  are  -the  leading  themes, 
to  be  pursued  in  the  later  high-school  or  early  college  years. 

4.  Meteorology,  a  specialized   study  of  atmospheric  phenomena, 
to  be  offered  by  schools  that  are  prepared  to  do  so  properly,  as  an 
elective  in  the  later  high-school  years. 

5.  Geology,  a  study  of  the  earth's  structure  and  its  past  history, 
to  be  offered  by  schools  prepared  to  do  so  properly,  as  an  elective  in 
the  last  year  of  the  high-school  course. 

The  precise  distribution  of  these  divisions  of  the  subject  through 
the  several  grades  of  our  schools  can  best  be  left  to  the  judgment  and 
discretion  of  those  who  have  immediate  charge  of  them,  for  their  best 
14 


210  GEOGRAPHY. 

distribution  depends,  in  a  large  degree,  upon  the  preparation  and 
ability  of  the  teachers,  the  character  of  the  school,  the  advancement 
and  intelligence  of  the  community  (which  greatly  aids  or  retards  the 
work  of  scholars)  the  local  geographic  surroundings,  and  the  facilities 
for  advantageous  study  both  within  and  without  the  school.  Each 
step  should  be  satisfactorily  taken  before  the  next  is  attempted.  A 
rigid  system  which  forces  a  class  over  a  given  ground  in  a  given  time 
without  regard  to  their  ability  to  cover  it  properly  will  not  be  helpful 
to  the  best  results.  In  general,  however,  it  is  the  judgment  of  the 
Conference  that  too  much  time  is  given  to  the  subject  in  proportion  to 
to  the  results  secured.  It  is  not  their  judgment  that  more  time  is 
given  to  the  subject  than  it  merits,  but  that  either  more  should  be 
accomplished  or  less  time  taken  to  attain  it.  In  general,  they  believe 
the  progress  of  the  work  is  too  slow,  and  that  it  will  be  both  more 
interesting  to  the  scholars  and  more  successfully  done  if  pushed  with 
greater  vigor.  The  work  should  move  on  earnestly  and  at  a  pace 
that  makes  the  progress  obvious  to  the  scholars.  Interest  lags  when 
the  advance  is  too  slow.  Dawdling  and  dwelling  on  trivialities  are 
among  the  great  mistakes  of  the  schoolroom.  They  are  especially 
vicious  when  mistaken  for  thoroughness.  The  committee  believe  that 
the  real  acquisitions  of  pupils  may  be  increased  twofold,  or  threefold, 
or  fourfold,  by  right  methods  and  by  earnest  judicious  pressing  of  the 
work,  and  hence,  that  the  time  given  to  geography  may  be  somewhat 
shortened  and  yet  higher  attainments  secured,  and  that  a  portion  of 
the  time  thus  saved,  may  be  devoted  to  natural  and  human  history, 
f  wherein,  if  they  are  properly  treated,  the  geographic  factor  will  be 
brought  into  its  natural  place  and  functions,  and  the  pupils  taught 
I  that  most  important  of  lessons,  the  utilization  of  their  geographic 
1  knowledge.  The  Conference  regard  the  subject  of  geography  of  equal 
importance  with  arithmetic  in  the  primary  and  secondary  schools, 
and  entitled  to  equal  time,  but  they  think  that  a  like  remark  concern- 
ing greater  results  in  less  time  is  applicable  to  the  mathematical  work. 

ORDER  OF  TREATMENT  BASED  ON  MENTAL  PROCESSES. 

The  foregoing  suggestions  relate  to  the  succession  of  the  formal 
divisions  of  the  geographic  line  of  studies  and  bear  rather  upon  the 
arrangement  of  the  school  curriculum  than  upon  the  treatment  of  the 
topics  involved.  These  formal  divisions  are  based  largely  upon 
practical  considerations  and  natural  relationships,  and  take  little 
account  of  the  intellectual  processes  involved  and  their  proper 
sequences.  These  latter,  however,  are  the  chief  considerations  in 
the  mind  of  the  conscientious  and  intelligent  teacher,  for  they  control 
the  specific  treatment  of  the  subjects  embraced  in  the  study  and 


iods   of 
;  next,     J 
,nwhile, 


GEOGRAPHY.  211 

determine  the  habits  of  thought,  and  the  modes  of  the  work  of  the 
pupils.  The  teacher,  therefore,  needs  for  his  own  use  (not  to  give  his 
pupils  nor  to  put  in  the  curriculum)  a  more  analytical  view  of  the 
subject  based  on  th,e  intellectual  processes  involved,  a  view  which 
may  be  an  ever-present  guide  in  the  arrangement  of  details  and  the 
treatment  of  the  special  points  of  the  subject.  The  Conference  offer, 
by  way  of  suggestion,  the  following  scheme.  The  appended  remarks 
bear  in  part  upon  the  educational  philosophy  entertained,  in  part 
upon  the  purpose  of  the  work,  and  part  upon  the  methods  of 
execution.  Reduced  to  a  sentence  the  scheme  is  :  first,  see 
reproduce  ;  then  study  the  productions  of  others,  and,  meanwhile, 
ponder  and  reason  on  all. 

1.  Obscrvationcd  Geography.  In  the  judgment  of  the  Conference, 
observation  should  go  before  all  other  forms  of  geographical  study 
and  prepare  the  way  for  them;  its  object  being  (1)  to  develop  the 
power  and  habit  of  geographic  observation,  (2)  to  give  the  pupils 
true  and  vivid  basal  ideas,  and  (3)  to  arouse  a  spirit  of  inquiry  and  a 
thirst  for  geographical  knowledge.  This  work  of  observation  should 
begin  with  those  features  that  lie  immediately  about  the  pupils  crmd  so 
fall  easily  within  the  reach  of  their  direct  study  and  ready  comprehen- 
sion. In  rural  districts,  the  natural  features  of  the  surface  will 
obviously  form  a  large  part  of  the  study,  while  in  cities,  the  artificial 
features  must  largely  take  the  place  of  these.  In  the  one  instance, 
natural  geograph}T,  as  seen  in  the  forms  of  the  land,  the  hills,  valle}'s, 
plains,  meadows,  divides,  streams,  lakes,  etc.,  will  predominate, 
while  in  the  other  artificial  or  humanistic  geography  will  receive  lead- 
ing attention,  as  streets,  railways,  wharves,  harbors,  parks,  plots, 
wards,  etc.  ;  but  something  of  both  these  groups  of  subjects  may  be 
found  and  utilized  in  both  localities.  Neither  should  be  neglected, 
for  the  pdpils  need  not  only  to  acquire  clear  ideas  of  the  things  by 
which  they  are  chiefl}*  surrounded  but  type  ideas  of  the  things  which 
characterize  other  localities  and  of  which  they,  need  to  form  correct . 
ideas  without  being  able  to  see  them.  Observation,  however,  should 
not  be  confined  simply  to  the  passive  fi'xeH  features  by  which  pupils 
are  surrounded.  They  should  observe  the  agencies  that  produce  sur-^] 
face  changes,  such  as  winds,  rains,  floods,  thawing,  freezing,  culti- 
vation, etc.  The  temporary  streams  that  follow  heavy  rains  represent 
on  a  small  scale  many  of  the  natural  processes  by  which  surface 
features  are  produced.  From  these  immediate  agencies,  the  observa- 
tions should  extend  to  the  phenomena  of  the  weather  and  the  climate, 
such  as  temperature,  winds,  clouds,  seasons,  etc.  As  a  step  toward 
the  understanding  of  mathematical  geography,  so-called,  the  children 
should  be  led  to  observe  the  shifting  of  the  sun  north  and  south  with 


212  GEOGRAPHY. 

the  seasons  and  to  measure  the  amount  of  this  by  the  length  of 
shadows  at  noonday  in  the  different  months  of  the  year.  They 
should  compare  these  by  means  of  a  record  kept  for  the  purpose.  In 
like  manner,  they  should  observe  the  movements  of  the  stars  and 
other  heavenly  bodies.  As  a  step  toward  the  study  of  the  distribu- 

I  tion  of  plants  and  animals  and  an  insight  into  their  dependence  upon 
temperature,  soil,  food,  etc.,  the  pupils  should  be  encouraged  to 
observe  the  differences  of  plants  on  uplands,  lowlands,  marshes,  etc., 
and  upon  sandy,  clayey,  gravelly  or  stony  ground,  and  to  note  the 
habitual  dispersal  of  animals  and  insects  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
also  their  relations  to  each  other,  as  in  forming  or  frequenting  forests, 
prairies,  meadows,  etc.  As  a  step  toward  the  study  of  the  human 

I  elements  in  geography,  observations  should  be  made  upon  the  popu- 
lation and  its  distribution,  upon  home  occupations  and  productions, 
TTpcrcrlocal  political  boundaries,  as  wards,  school  districts,  city  or 
town  limits,  etc.,  and  upon  the  location  of  cities,  villages,  railways, 
canals,  etc.  Thus,  by  a  little  ingenuity  and  industry,  a  large  part  of 
the  features  that  make  up  the  substance  of  geography  in  the  large 
sense  may  be  found  illustrated  close  at  home,  and,  if  suitably  studied, 
the  basis  may  be  laid  for  clear  conceptions  of  those  features  which  lie 
beyond  the  range  of  the  child's  observation. 

Observation  should  not  only  begin  the  work  in  geography  but  should 
continue  throughout  the  entire  course  and  beyond.  If  scholars  are  not 
educated  so  as  to  continually  observe  geographic  features  and  note 
their  significance  whenever  they  are  brought  in  contact  with  them, 
whether  during  school  cl^'s  or  afterwards,  the  school  work  fails  of  Us 
most  important  possibilities.  The  pupils'  first  observational  work  is 
necessarily  of  the  simpler  and  more  superficial  kind.  As  knowledge 
and  insight  increase,  they  should  see  more  and  more  of  the  geographic 
phenomena  that  come  before  them  and  see  deeper  and  deeper  into 
their  significance  and  receive  increasing  pleasure  and  profit  from 
them.  To  this  end,  every  opportunity  for  observational  work  in 
geography  should  be  eagerly  embraced.  Excursions  for  the  special 
purpose  should  be  made  as  frequently  as  practicable,  formally  or  in- 
formally, in  school  hours  and  out  of  school  hours,  by  classes  and  by 
individuals.  Advantage  should  be  taken  of  incidental  excursions  in 
which  the  class  or  any  of  its  members  participate.  The  little  trips 
and  longer  travels  of  members  of  the  class  should  be  taken  advantage 
of.  Late  in  the  course,  special  studies  of  certain  geographic  features 
may  be  taken  up  with  success  and  profit. 

2.  Representative  Geography .  Immediately  after  the  making  of 
observations  should  come  their  reproduction  in  the  form  of  descrip- 
tions, sketches,  maps,  models,  etc.  The  instruction  of  the  teacher 


GEOGRAPHY.  213 

falls  far  short  of  its  highest  efficiency  if  the  early  work  is  merely 
observational  and  receptive.  The  great  end  of  education  is  to  create 
productive  ability.  One  important  form  of  this  is  representative 
production.  Besides  having  value  in  itself,  the  description  of 
features  that  have  been  seen  and  their  representation  b}'  sketches, 
maps,  or  models  reacts  upon  the  observational  work  and  induces  a 
clearness,  sharpness,  and  dcfiniteness  that  it  would  not  otherwise  be 
likely  to  take.  Not  only  this,  but  it  leads  the  scholars  to  realize  what 
maps,  descriptions,  etc.,  really  mean.  By  this  means,  pupils  arc 
lead  up  naturally  to  an  ability  to  read  with  vividness,  ease,  and  full  / 
understanding,  the  maps  and  descriptions  which  constitute  the 
medium  of  the  larger  part  of  their  later  studies,  and  such  ability  to 
read  is  of  supreme  importance  in  all  subsequent  work. 

3.  Derivative  or  Descriptive  Geography.     When  pupils  have  gained 
true  and  vivid  basal  ideas  by  observation  and  have,  by  reproducing 
these,  acquired  a  realistic  sense  of  the  meaning  of  maps  and  an  abil- 
ity to  read  them,  ii:  the  full  and  proper  sense  of  the  term,  they  are 
prepared  to  pass  on  to  a  formal  study  of  descriptive  geography.     In 
this,  the  observational  and  representative  work  of  others  than  them- 
selves is  made  the  basis  of  study.     The  pupils  are  not  now  studying   ' 
the  earth's  surface  but  "  a  description  of  the  earth's  surface."     The  — 
work  is  not  direct  and  immediate,  but  derivative  and  secondary.     The 
pupils  cannot  carry  their  own  observations  over  more  than  a  very 
small  fraction  of  the  earth's  surface  and  their  work  upon  even  this 
small   portion  must,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  be  very   imperfect«J 
Their  great  dependence  must,  therefore,  be  upon  the  work  of  others, 
the  work  of  geographical  experts,  and  hence  descriptive  geography 
must  embrace  much  the  largest  portion  of  their  attention.     The  com- 
mon mistake  is  that  it  embraces  too  nearly  all  of  it,  and  the  observa- 
tional and  reproductive  efforts  which  are  necessary  to  give  the  study 

oF  descriptions  its  greatest  serviceability  are  neglected.  These  should 
be  continued  throughout  the  course  running  parallel  with  the  descrip- 
tive study  and  supplementing  and  vivifying  it. 

4.  Rational    Geography.     It   has    already    been   urged    that   the    ~7 
pupils  should  be  induced  to  observe  changes  and  processes  as  well  as 
the  simple  passive  facts  of  geography,  and  that  there  should  thereby 

be  laid  the  foundation  for  an  understanding  of  the  origin,  the__devel-J  • 
opment,  and  the  future  history  of  geographic  features.     This  is  the  *•* 
introduction  of  rational  geography,  as  distinguished  from  the  mere 
noting  and  memorizing  of  facts.     This  phase  of  the  subject  which 
leads  the  pupils  into  the  reason  of  things,  should  be  assiduously  cul- 
tivated,  for  it  is  the  soul  of  the  science.     It  should,  however,  be 
carefully  adapted  to  the  capabilities  of  the  pupils,  particularly  in  the 


214  GEOGRAPHY. 

earlier  stages  of  the  study.  They  should  not  be  forced  beyond  their 
capacity  to  comprehend  the  nature  of  the  agencies  that  have  rendered 
geography  what  it  is.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  an  equal  danger 
of  underestimating  the  capacities  of  pupils  to  see  into  the  reasons 
for  natural  operations.  It  is  as  dangerous  to  allow  their  capacities  to 
lie  undeveloped  as  it  is  to  overload  them  with  reasonings  they  cannot 
understand,  and  to  force  them  to  carry  these  in  a  mere  verbal  form  by 
an  effort  of  memory.  The  reasonings  should  be  such  as  the}T  can  follow 
understandingly,  if  not  work  out  themselves.  If  the}'  merely  commit 
them  to  memory,  they  are  as  dead  as  other  things  simply  memorized 
and  lose  entirely  the  rational  element.  It  ma3r  not  be  wholly  with- 
out value  in  some  cases  to  give  to  children  a  statement  of  the  causes 
of  phenomena  even  though  they  are  unable  to  understand  the  methods 
of  their  operation,  but  it  should  be  clearly  understood  that  this  is  not 
teaching  the  scholars  to  reason  concerning  phenomena,  or  evefi.  to 
follow  reasonings  concerning  phenomena,  but  merely  to  memorize  the 
reasons  of  phenomena. 

It  is  not  recommended  that  rational  geography  be  disassociated 
from  observational  and  descriptive  geography,  but  rather,  on  the 
contrary,  that  it  be  intimatel}*  connected  with  these  and  that  it  be 
introduced  so  as  to  give  them  life  and  significance.  To  do  this,  skill 
and  discretion  must  be  used  respecting  the  way  in  which  the  rational 
element  is  introduced  and  the  extent  to  which  it  is  carried. 

TREATMENT  IN  RELATION  TO  MENTAL  DISCIPLINE. 

It  is  an  advantage  to  the  teacher  to  carry  the  analysis  and  classifi- 
cation of  the  work  in  geography  a  step  further  in  the  direction  of  its 
psychological  effects  so  as  to  make  the  point  of  view  more  exclusively 
and  definitely  the  mental  powers  to  be  exercised  and  developed.  But 
this  should  be  understood  as  having  reference  solely  to  the  teacher's 
aid  and  guidance  in  the  arrangement  and  conduct  of  the  work,  and 
not  as  a  formal  division  of  the  subject  nor  as  a  matter  to  be  taught 
pupils.  Clear  and  definite  views  of  the  cultural  purposes  of  the  work 
cannot  be  too  strongly  urged  upon  the  teacher.  Such  views  will  not 
ou\y  be  a  guide  to  the  proper  method  of  treatment  of  the  subject  but 
will  be  constantly  suggestive  of  the  difficulties  the  scholars  encounter, 
of  the  defects  of  their  modes  of  thinking,  and  of  the  ways  and  means 
of  obviating  these.  While  various  activities  of  the  mind  are  called 
into  exercise  in  geographical  work,  the  committee  would  advise  that 
the  systematic  development  of  three  classes  of  these  should  largely 
control  the  arrangement  of  the  work,  viz.,  (1)  thej>pwers  of  observa- 
tion, (2)  the  powers  of  scientific  imagination,  and  (3)  the  powers  of 
reasoning.  The  cultivation  of  the  powers  of  observation  is  necessary 


GEOGRAPHY.  215 

to  furnish  clear,  accurate,  and  realistic  fundamental  ideas  and  modes 
of  thought.  These,  in  turn,  are  necessary  as  a  ground  work  for  the 
training  of  the  scientific  imagination,  for  clear  images  are  not  likely. 
to  be  formed  of  things  not  seen  unless  clear  impressions  are  formed 
of  things  seen.  The  image-producing  power  is  the  only  means  by 
which  the  larger  part  of  the  matter  of  geography  can  be  presented  to 
the  mind,  and  no  effort  should  be  spared  to  give  it  strength  and 
vividness.  Both  clearness  of  observation  and  strength  of  imagination 
are  essential  as  a  basis  for  safe  reasoning ;  for  recourse  must  be  had 
to  both  for  the  ground-work  upon  which  reasoning  proceeds. 

Much  that  falls  under  this  head  has  been  implied  in  the  foregoing 
discussion  but,  at  the  risk  of  some  repetition,  the  following  classes  of 
topics  are  cited  as  suggesting  the  means  of  cultivating  advantageous!}* 
these  powers.  The  first  class  may  seem  too  obvious  and  familiar  to 
need  "foaming,  even  in  outline,  but  the  second  is  not  so  generally 
recognized  as  calling  into  exercise  the  imagination.  The  definite 
concrete  recognition  by  the  teacher  of  the  necessary  function  of  the 
imagination  in  the  study  of  these  topics  and  the  specific  application 
of  methods  suited  to  the  development  of  clear  and  strong  powers  of. 
image-production  in  the  scholars  is  important  to  best  results. 

A.  Under  the  head  of  resources  for  the  culture  of  the  observational 
powers  will  obviously  fall  (1)  study  of  surface  forms,  such  as  hills, 
valleys,    plains,    plateaus,    streams,    lakes,   shores,    and    all   similar 
phenomena  within  the  pupils'  horizon.     These  may  be  approached, 
as    already   indicated,   by   observations  on  miniature  forms  of   like 
nature,  such  as  may  be  found  in  gutters,  gullies,  ravines,  brooklets, 
ponds,  "bottoms,"  etc.;   (2)  observations  on  the  temperature  and 
its  relations  to  the  direction  of  the  sun's  rays,  the  apparent  motion  of 
the  heavenly  bodies,  as  their  circling  round  the  poles,  the  rising  and 
setting  of  some  stars  and  not  of  others,  the  shifting  north  and  south 
of  the  sun,  moon,  etc.  ;   (3)  movements  of  the  atmosphere  and  their 
effects,  rain  and  its  effects,  snow  and  its  effects,  fogs,  clouds,  etc.  ; 
(4)  plant  life  and  its  dependence  on  heat,  moisture,  sunlight,  etc.  ; 
the  influence  of  soil,  slope,  etc.  ;    (5)  observations  on  animal  life,  of 
similar  nature  ;   (6)  observations  on  man  in  the  family,  in  educational, 
church,  social,  and  business  organizations,  in  city  and  town  organiz- 
ations, and  so  on  up  towards  the  larger  human  organizations  and  tLe 
forms  of  government.     So  also,  observations  on  city  and  town  plots 
with   their  street   systems,    railwa}rs,    canals,   harbors,  their  wards, 
school  districts,  etc. 

B.  Under  work  involving  the  culture  of  the  imagination  will  fall 
the  formation  of  concepts  of  all  the  larger  features  of  geography  and 
of  all  features  beyond  the  range   of   observation ;  as  (1)  the  river 


216  GEOGRAPHY. 

basins,  the  great  relief  systems,  the  continental  divisions  and  sub- 
divisions, the  ocean  bottoms,  the  distribution  of  laud  and  water,  and, 
in  a  less  pronounced  way,  the  picturing  of  all  geographical  features 
not  actually  observed  ;  (2)  modifications  of  apparent  motions  due  to 
imagined  changes  of  position  of  the  observer  on  the  earth's  surface, 
such  as  the  position  at  the  pole,  on  the  equator,  on  the  different 
parallels,  etc.  ;  (3)  distribution  of  the  meteorological  agencies  over 
the  globe,  as  moisture,  winds,  climate  ;  the  mental  picturing  of  the 
great  wind  movements,  the  cyclonic  circulation,  the  zones,  etc.  ;  (4) 
distribution  of  plant  life  developed  in  the  form  of  a  mental  picture  in 
its  relations  to  the  earth's  surface,  to  land  and  water,  to  altitude  and 
climatic  conditions,  as  distinguished  from  a  mere  memorizing  of  the 
facts  of  distribution  without  any  such  pictorial  conception;  (5) 
distribution  of  animal  life  in  like  manner ;  (6)  distribution  of  races 
\of  men,  forms  of  government,  national  territory,  etc. 

C.  Both  of  the  foregoing  lists  of  topics  furnish  the  ground-work 
for  the  culture  of  the  reasoning  powers  if  the  question  of  causes  and 
agencies  is  raised  in  connection  with  them.  Why  do  the  several 
features  take  the  forms  they  do?  By  what  agencies  were  they 
caused,  and  why  did  these  agencies  work  in  such  ways?  How  did 
these  forms  originate?  What  are  the  causes  of  the  winds,  the  clouds, 
the  changes  of  temperature?  Why  are  the  animals  and  plants 
distributed  as  they  are?  Why  were  these  cities  located  as  they  are? 
Why  are  these  large  and  those  small  ?  Why  do  these  railways  take 
this  course  rather  than  another?  And  so  on. 

The  Conference  do  not  advise  the  disassociation  of  these  processes 
for  the  specific  development  of  these  mental  powers  from  each  other 
in  the  practice  of  the  schoolroom,  but  they  do  urge  that  teachers 
clearly  recognize  them  as  they  are  involved  in  their  work  and  fully 
appreciate  their  importance.  They  should  definitely  associate  the 
topics  they  are  endeavoring  to  teach  with  the  mental  powers  the} 
bring  into  exercise,  so  that  there  shall  be  ever  present  in  the  mind  as 
an  object  of  endeavor  not  only  the  mastery  of  the  subject-matter  but 
the  acquisition  of  improved  mental  powers. 

This  is  not  matter  to  be  put  before  pupils,  as  they  are  not  presumed 
to  be  studying  psychology.  Its  value  lies  in  its  guidance  of  the 
teacher's  conduct  of  the  work. 

METHODS  OF  PRESENTATION. 

In  the  discussion  of  the  previous  topics,  we  have  necessarily 
touched  upon  some  of  the  most  vital  considerations  that  bear  upon 
methods  of  teaching.  This  is  especially  true  of  those  that  relate  to 
the  order  of  arrangement  of  the  work,  the  methods  of  approach  to 


GEOGRAPHY.  217 

the  different  phases  of  the  subject,  and  the  mental  powers  to  be 
cultivated.  But  in  addition  to  these  more  general  and  fundamental 
suggestions  there  are  considerations  that  relate  to  modes  of  presenta- 
tion and  appliances  for  illustrative  instruction  that  require  attention. 
The  suggestions  of  the  Conference  must  necessarily  be  incomplete, 
and,  at  the  outset,  they  wish  to  disclaim  any  intention  of  limiting, 
even  by  suggestion,  the  modes  of  teaching  to  the  methods  here 
briefly  outlined.  The  Conference  hold  it  to  be  of  first  importance  that 
every  teacher  should  become  so  familiar  with  the  subject  as  to  be 
able  freely  to  depart  from  an}'  proposed  method  according  as  the 
special  conditions  of  the  school  shall  indicate.  At  the  same  time, 
the  Conference  feel  that  the  following  outlines  of  the  manner  in  which 
different  parts  of  the  subject  may  be  laid  before  a  class  may  prove 
serviceable.  Their  effort  is  to  suggest  briefly  and  definitely  certain 
modes  of  treatment  of  the  various  parts  of  the  subject,  believing  that 
teachers  can  infer  from  these  the  manner  in  which  other  parts  of  the 
subject  may  be  developed. 

Preliminary  Suggestions.  Inasmuch  as  all  success  in  teaching 
depends  largely  on  the  ability,  training,  and  opportunities  of  the 
teacher,  several  rather  miscellaneous  recommendations  are  introduced, 
at  the  outset,  relative  to  the  organization  and  equipment  of  the  school 
and  the  training  of  the  teacher. 

We  urge  that,  in  the  selection  of  new  teachers,  only  those  be 
appointed  who,  by  observation  and  by  practice  in  recording  and 
reproducing  their  work,  have  acquired  a  sufficient  knowledge  and 
skill  to  be  able  to  cany  out  themselves  the  observations,  recordings, 
mappings,  and  modellings  that  are  expected  of  their  scholars.  We 
also  recommend  that  familiarity  with  the  modern  aspects  of  physiog-  V^ 
raphy  be  made  a  requirement  of  all  special  teachers  of  geography,  as 
soon  as  practicable. 

We  strongly  urge  that  self-improvement  be  stimulated  by  special 
meetings  of  geographical  teachers  wherever  these  can  be  organized, 
and  that  the  resources  of  the  schools  and  of  accessible  libraries  be 
utilized  as  fully  as  possible  in  the  presentation  and  discussion  by  the 
teachers  themselves,  at  tV.ose  meetings,  of  various  special  problems 
connected  with  this  specii'.c  line  of  work. 

We  recommend  tliat  schools  be  supplied  (1)  with  large-scale  maps  ,S 
of  their  own  district  and  their  own  state  ;  (2)  with  the  best  obtainable 
series  of  general  maps,  prepared  as  far  as  possible  on  uniform  scales  ; 
the  style  of  projection  and  the  scale  being  indicated  on  each  map ; 
(3)  with  a  sufficient  number  of  small  globes  to  enable  every  scholar, 
sufficiently  advanced,  to  study  the  globe  individually,  at  one  hour 
or  another,  during  the  day,  just  as  a  book  might  be  studied ;  (4) 


218  GEOGRAPHY. 

with  illustrations  of  various  kinds  as  liberally  as  possible,  including 
"""photographs,  lantern  slides,  and  means  of  projection  ;  (5)  if  possible, 
with  a  few  models  (whose  scales  should  not  be  unreasonably 
exaggerated)  representing  the  home  district,  if  these  can  be  obtained, 
or,  if  not,  at  least  with  typical  models  of  some  interesting  regions  of 
our  own  country;  (G)  with  books  of  reference  on  history,  travels, 
natural  history,  etc.,  involving  geographical  elements  and  suitable  for 
the  use  of  both  scholars  and  teachers,  and  in  increasing  numbers 
year  by  year  ;  (7)  with  a  selected  series  of  topographical  maps  for  use 
in  schools  (see  note  below).  In  order  that  the  expense  incurred  in 
procuring  all  these  materials  should  not  be  too  heavy,  at  any  one 
time,  it  is  suggested  that  it  be  divided  and  distributed  over  several 
years,  rather  than  that  the  supply  of  materials  be  neglected.  In 
man}'  cases,  the  assistance  of  generous  patrons  of  public  schools  may 
be  enlisted  to  this  end. 

We  recommend  that  eacli  teacher  keep  a  book  of  record,  in 
addition  to  any  records  kept  by  scholars,  and  that  in  this  the  more 
general  and  important  results  of  class  work  be  set  down  for  future, 
reference  ;  thus  accumulating  a  fund  of  original  information,  largely 
the  product  of  the  scholars'  own  activities,  which  will  be  serviceable 
to  them,  later  in  their  studies,  and  to  their  successors. 

We  urge  that  at  all  stages  and  in  all  parts  of  the  study  of  geography 
the  teacher,  rather  than  the  textbook,  should  lead  the  class.  A  good 
textbook  is  necessary  to  furnish  maps  and  other  material  of  study,  to 
secure  conciseness  of  definition,  and  to  save  time  in  study,  after 
a  proper  introduction  to  its  texts  has  been  given  by  the  teacher, 
nnd  a  good  textbook  should  give  a  better  presentation  of  the  subject 
than  teachers  can  usually  be  expected  to  command.  So  also, 
recitations  based  on  textbooks  are  indispensable  in  order  to  secure 
precision  of  understanding  and  of  statement  on  the  part  of  the 
scholars.  But  every  stage  of  the  subject  should  be  naturally  intro- 
duced  and  illustrated  by  the  teacher,  and  the  textbook  should  be  kept 

-  NOTE. — Regarding  a  series  of  topographical  maps  for  use  in  high  schools,  the 
Conference  voted  that  the  chairman  should  appoint  a  committee  whose  duty  it 
should  be  to  select  from  topographical  maps  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey  such  a  series  as  shall  best  illustrate  the  principal  topographical  forms  of 
our  country,  and  al?;o  to  select  from  the  charts  of  the  Coast  and  Lake  Surveys  a 
series  which  shall  best  illustrate  the  principal  features  of  our  shore  lines ;  and 
that  high  schools  be  urged  to  purchase  these  series  of  maps,  together  with  the 
topographic  maps  of  the  district  in  which  the  school  is  located,  if  such  have  been 
made.  When  this  committee  reports,  it  is  probable  that  the  list  of  maps  which 
it  selects  will  be  published,  together  with  the  prices  at  which  they  can  be 
obtained.  Professors  William  M.  Davis,  Charles  F.  King,  and  George  L.  Collie 
were  appointed  as  such  committee. 


GEOGRAPHY.  219 

in  its  proper  place  as  an  aid  and  not  as  a  master,  and  mere  lesson- 
hearing  should  never  be  allowed  to  replace  actual  teaching. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  the  simple  memorizing,  or  the 
slavish  following,  of  the  textbook  should  be  avoided,  and  the  work 
adapted  to  the  particular  class  of  pupils  under  instruction  and  to 
their  geographic  surroundings.  In  departing  from  the  textbook, 
however,  the  opposite  mistake  of  consuming  undue  time  in  giving  the 
scholars  what  the  textbook  would  give  them  in  better  form,  and  in 
dwelling  on  trivial  local  things,  or  on  mere  illustrations  that  are  not 
necessary  to  develop  the  essentials,  or  on  simple  entertainment,  or 
on  carrying  out  a  mere  ideal  method,  should  be  avoided.  The  work 
should  be  important  and  the  matter  valuable,  either  in  itself,  or  as  a 
means  of  reaching  that  which  is  valuable.  The  leading  up  to  a 
subject,  and  the  leading  out  into  it,  should  be  such  as  to  aid  the 
pupils  in  making  the  highest  and  best  use  of  the  textbook  and  of  all 
geographical  literature  with  which  the}r  come  in  contact. 

Modelling,  drawing,  and  other  graphic  modes  of  expression  are 
fully  recognized  as  indispensable  means  of  aiding  the  imagination, 
intensifying  thought,  and  strengthening  memory.  But  these  means 
should  be  kept  subordinate  to  the  study  of  the  subject  itself.  They 
may  be  made  ineffective  and  even  harmful  by  degrading  them  to  the 
drudgery  of  mere  imitation,  or  the  simple  copying  of  other  maps  or 
models. 

The  habit  of  making  use  of  geographical  knowledge  in  all  studies 
to  which  it  is  applicable  and  the  practice  of  constantly  locating  places 
on  maps  should  be  encouraged.  In  all  reading,  especially  the  study 
of  history,  travels,  explorations,  and  other  treatises  including 
geographic  descriptions,  the  places  mentioned  should  always  be 
carefully  located. 

The  desirability  of  a  better  execution  of  maps  for  school  purposes 
is  urged,  as  also  the  use  of  both  the  English  and  metric  scale.  A 
statement  of  the  projection  employed  in  each  map  is  desirable.  It  is 
especially  urged  that  relief  maps  should  be  reduced  as  nearly  to 
natural  scale  as  possible,  and  that,  in  all  maps,  the  representations 
should  be  as  realistic  as  practicable,  and  the  coloring  and  lettering, 
while  clear  and  distinct,  should  be  subordinate  to  the  geographic 
features. 

Topical  recitation  and  study  should  be  used  as  freely  as  practicable, 
and  the  subject  developed  by  comparison  of  observations,  by 
discussions,  and  by  readings  from  all  sources  available,  and  by  the 
introduction  of  all  kinds  of  illustration.  A  larger  use  of  works  of 
travel  adapted  to  the  capacity  of  the  pupils  is  strongly  recommended. 

The  teacher  can  economize  time  in  recitation  by  using  the  facts 


220  GEOGRAPHY. 

gained  by  a  study  of  the  assigned  lesson  as  a  point  of  departure  for 
the  purpose  of  leading  on  to  additional  facts  and  causes  and 
results,  for  making  comparisons,  and  for  stimulating  fresh  thought 
upon  the  subject,  instead  of  going  over  the  subject  solely  to  test  the 
pupils'  memory  and  faithfulness.  As  an  illustration,  the  class  having 
learned  what  they  can  about  the  Mississippi  River,  instead  of  spend- 
ing half  an  hour  asking  pupils  in  turn  the  length  of  the  river,  where 
it  rises,  between  what  states  it  flows,  and  into  what  body  of  water  it 
empties,  the  teacher  and  the  class  may  take  an  imaginary  ride  from 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  down  the  river,  and  develop  the  facts 
connected  with  its  course  and  their  applications  in  a  graphic  and 
realistic  way  from  the  imaginary  deck  of  a  steamer. 

We  urge  upon  teachers  the  free  use  of  the  crayon  and  blackboard. 
The  simplest  illustrations  are  of  the  greatest  help,  as,  for  instance, 
sketches  of  mountains,  lakes,  bays,  etc.,  a  few  lines  to  show  the 
comparative  size  of  mountains,  fanciful  shapes  of  countries,  sketch 
maps  of  countries,  or  parts  of  a  countiy,  localities  of  coal,  silver, 
gold,  or  copper  fields,  simple  sketches  of  plant  and  animal  life,  belts 
of  forests  and  deserts,  etc.  The  outlines  of  a  country  painted  upon 
a  cloth  blackboard,  in  oil,  form  an  invaluable  and  inexpensive  piece 
of  apparatus  which  can  be  used  by  the  teacher  while  imparting 
information,  and  by  the  pupil  in  recitation. 

Charts,  which  can  be  readily  made  upon  manilla  paper  with  the 
rubber  pen,  are  of  great  assistance  in  preserving  illustrations  for  use 
from  year  to  year. 

The  descriptive  matter  which  is  generally  given  in  regular 
geographical  textbooks  is  too  condensed  and  often  too  dryly  stated 
to  awaken  the  highest  interest  in  children  in  the  intermediate  and 
grammar  grades.  The  matter  given  in  most  works  of  travel  and  in 
geographical  readers  is  better  adapted  to  the  understanding  and 
appreciation  of  young  pupils.  In  most  of  these  books,  the  personal 
element  interests  the  young  minds  and  awakens  their  closest  attention. 
Within  a  few  years  "  geographical  supplementaiy  reading  "  has  been 
provided  in  such  abundance  that  every  teacher  has  large  opportunities 
of  selection  in  this  line  of  reading,  and  the  free  use  of  this  is 
recommended. 

Methods  in  the  Lowest  Grades.  While  the  simpler  facts  of  a 
geographical  nature  cannot  be  introduced  too  early  in  a  child's 
education,  it  is  not  recommended  that  the  formal  study  of  geography 
as  a  separate  subject,  however  elementaiy,  be  undertaken  in  the 
lowest  grades.  But  the  habit  of  observation  should  be  stimulated  as 
soon  as  the  child  enters  the  school  and  its  development  constantly 
encouraged.  The  plan  of  the  schoolhouse  and  schoolyard  and  the 


GEOGRAPHY.  221 

geographical  surroundings  of  the  school  furnish  immediate  oppor- 
tunities for  this  work  of  observation  in  the  geographical  line.  The 
power  of  verbal  expression,  which  should  receive  attention  at  the 
outset,  and  facility  in  writing  and  reading,  which  comes  later,  are 
developed  most  naturally  in  connection  with  subjects  that  lie  within 
the  observation  of  the  child,  and  man}'  of  these  are  geographical. 
Narratives  involving  travel  and  descriptions  of  foreign  countries  and 
peoples  may  be  included  as  properly  in  the  reading  matter  of  the 
school  as  the}7  are  in  the  stories  which  children  delight  to  hear  at 
home.  Inasmuch  as  the  first  years  of  the  school  work  are,  for 
the  most  part,  years  of  preparation  for  the  work  to  follow,  it  is 
of  the  utmost  importance  that  good  intellectual  habits  be  formed. 
Correct  observation  and  accurate  statement  of  simple  facts,  con- 
centration of  thought  on  simple  subjects  which  easily  absorb  the 
attention,  and  precise  memory  of  matters  which  readil}'  remain 
in  the  mind  are  modes  by  which,  through  the  aid  of  geographical 
surroundings,  good  basal  habits  of  mental  action  ma}'  be  developed. 

The  meaning  of  a  map  can  be  gradually  developed  in  the  minds  of 
pupils  "In  the  third  and  fourth  grade  by  having  the  children,  with 
some  help  from  the  teacher,  first  draw  a  simple  plan  of  the  school- 
room, marking  the  places  of  the  doors,  windows,  and  the  teacher's 
desk  ;  then  add,  on  the  same  scale,  the  pupils'  desks,  and  then  other 
fixed  objects.  After  this  has  been  done,  a  sketch  map  of  the  school 
yard  and  the  streets,  or  roads,  in  the  vicinity  may  be  made.  The 
teacher  may  first  draw  on  the  blackboard  while  the  pupils  draw  on 
paper,  adding  line  after  line,  and  naming  each  as  it  is  drawn.  When 
the  sketch  is  finished,  let  a  pupil  point  out  on  it  how  he  would  go 
from  the  school  to  his  home  and  tell  the  points  of  interest  or 
importance  passed  on.  the  wa}\  In  this  way,  lines  begin  to  have  a 
representative  value  in  the  mind  of  the  child.  From  the  map  of  the 
home  locality,  the  teacher  may  proceed  to  the  making  of  a  map  of 
the  country,  state,  and  grand  division,  always  emphasizing  the 
meaning  of  each  line  used.  If  the  teacher  can  show  pictures  of 
places  never  seen  by  the  class,  as  a  vallejr  through  which  a  river 
flows,  and  will  then  make  maps  of  the  same,  it  will  help  the  pupils  to 
understand  maps  still  better. 

The  class  may  then  be  taught  to  read  or  interpret  maps  of  different 
kinds,  to  explain  the  use  of  color,  of  shading,  of  parallels,  of  scale, 
etc.  The  meaning  of  scale  can  be  impressed  upon  the  young  child  by 
the  teacher  by  first  drawing  a  map  in  a  rectangle  divided  into  square 
inches  whose  sides  represent,  for  instance,  just  1000  miles.  Then 
draw  the  same  map  in  a  smaller  rectangle  and  ask  the  children 
questions  in  reference  to  the  squares,  length  of  lines,  etc. 


222  GEOGRAPHY. 

After  children  understand  the  significance  of  color  on  physical  maps, 
their  attention  can  be  called  to  the  use  of  other  means  of  representing 
the  same  facts,  as  by  shading,  hachures,  and  contour  lines. 

Mapping  as  a  means  for  the  reproduction  and  graphic  illustration 
of  facts  learned,  and  to  aid  the  memory,  is  of  the  greatest  importance. 
When  the  outlines  are  only  a  groundwork  for  the  plotting  of  the 
significant  matter,  time  may  be  saved  by  procuring  these  already 
printed,  or  manifolded  by  some  of  the  many  cheap  methods  now  in 
use.  These  can  then  be  filled  in  with  lines  and  words  to  represent 
the  points  under  study  as  elevations,  drainage,  productions,  exports, 
commerce,  etc.  The  filling  in  may  be  done  gradually  at  the  end  of 
each  lesson,  thus  forming  what  may  be  appropriately  called  a  "  pro- 
gressive map." 

Methods  in  the  Intermediate  and  Grammar  Grades.  As  the  work 
advances  to  the  formal  study  of  geography,  every  new  branch  of  the 
subject  should  be  naturally  introduced  by  easy  transition  from  what 
has  gone  before  or  from  some  new  quality  of  local  observation.  No 
new  step  should  be  taken  until  the  class  is  clearly  ready  to  take  it. 
The  art  of  the  teacher  should  be  so  exercised  that  the  class  is  lead 
towards  the  next  division  of  the  subject  before  the  precedir.gxHie  is 
passed,  and,  if  possible,  questions  should  be  elicited  from  the 
brighter  scholars  whose  answers  will  anticipate  the  subject  next  to  bo 
considered.  The  intelligence  of  the  children  will  be  an  important 
clement  in  determining  the  pi  ogress  of  study.  Great  care  should  be 
taken  to  develop  the  use  of  local  opportunities  in  such  order  as-  will 
best  open  the  more  advanced  parts  of  the  subject.  A  vaiying 
emphasis  must  be  given  to  different  subjects  according  to  the  need 
of  the  class. 

The  greatest  care  should  be  given,  to  secure  clearness  of  ideas. 
For  this  reason,  we  recommend  again  that  observational  study  should 
form  the  beginning  of  every  new  division  of  the  subject,  if  it  can  be 
done,  and  that  the  exercise  of  the  imagination  of  remote  objects 
should  always  be  preceded,  if  possible,  by  the  exercise  of  the  obser- 
vation of  similar  facts  near  at  home.  The  expert  .teacher  will  nearly 
everywhere  find  that  the  variety  of  available  material  increases  as 
practice  in  this  method  is  continued. 

In  view  of  what  has  alread}'  been  said  under  previous  heads,  we  do 
not  feel- that  it  is  necessary  to  enter  further  into  detail  as  to  methods 
of  teaching  common  geography  or  the  common  phases  of  phrysical 
geography,  especially  as  they  are  somewhat  fully  set  forth  in  avail- 
able treatises,  but  in  view  of  the  new  factors  in  physiography  and 
meteorology,  we  have  entered  into  a  somewhat  full  sketch  of  methods 
of  treatment  of  those  subjects. 


GEOGRAPHY.  223 

Methods  in  Physiography.  Inasmuch  as  meteorology  is  considered 
under  a  separate  heading,  and  as  oceanograph}-  can  seldom  receive 
close  attention,  we  shall  here  confine  ourselves  to  a  consideration  of 
the  physiography*  of  the  land. 

The  method  adopted  in  teaching  this  subject  in  the  high  school 
should  be  such  as  to  bring  out  clearly  its  leading  educational  values : 
first,  the  understanding  that  it  gives  of  the  forms  of  the  land  at  home 
and  abroad  as  dependent  on  the  stage  of  advance  of  various 
processes ;  second,  the  practice  that  it  requires  in  the  conception  of 
the  many  variable  and  interacting  agencies  on  which  the  forms  of  the 
land  depend. 

In  order  to  secure  the  successful  application  and  illustration  of  the 
principles  of  physiography  in  the  home  district,  we  advise  that  the 
teacher  of  this  subject  should,  if  possible,  have  had  some  outdoor 
experience  .in  geological  field  work,  as  it  is  only  through  such  ^ 
experience  that  local  illustrations  can  be  utilized  to  the  fullest 
advantage  and  a  sufficiently  practical  turn  can  be  given  to  the  study. 

To  reach  the  best  results,  we  advise  that  the  following  classes  of 
materials  be  supplied  as  liberally  and  utilized  as  fully  as  possible : 

Maps :  Not  only  the  physical  maps  of  the  larger  land  divisions, 
alread}'  introduced  in  more  elementary  teaching ;  but  also  special 
maps  of  restricted  areas  on  large  scale,  illustrative  of  typical  land 
forms,  such  as  it  is  the  intention  of  the  Conference  to  select  and 
recommend  for  use,  through  its  sub-committee,  as  referred  to  on 
page  135  :  the  object  gained  Iry  these  large  scale  maps  being  the 
actual  representation  of  the  actual  forms  of  the  land,  instead  of  the 
mere  indication  of  the  locality  where  certain  forms  occur,  as  is  the 
case  with  the  use  of  small-scale  maps. 

Illustrations:  Not  so  much  of  different  places,  as  of  different  kinds 
of  places  ;  the  effort  being  to  present  a  systematic  series  of  the 
different  classes  of  land  forms.  These  may  be  secured  in  part  from 
illustrated  newspapers  and  magazines  ;  still  better  in  photographs  and 
lantern  slides  ;  some  form  of  lantern  for  projection  being  essential 
to  the  attainment  of  the  best  results.  The  collection  of  illustrations 
should  be  gradually  extended  and  improved  from  year  to  year.  The 
use  of  colored  chalks  on  the  blackboard  may  be  made  very  effective  in 
representing  maps,  sections,  ideal  diagrams,  birds-eye  views,  etc. 

Models :  While  elaborate  models  and  relief-maps  are  too  expensive 
for  general  use,  effective  reliefs  of  diagrammatic  style  are  less  costly 
and  should  be  introduced.  Diagrammatic  models  should  be  made  by 
the  teacher  ;  for  it  is  fair  to  expect  that  the  skill  manifested  by  3*oung 
scholars  in  making  their  sand  and  clay  reliefs  should  be  far  enough 
developed  in  the  teacher  of  physiograph}-  to  produce  original  models 


224  GEOGRAPHY. 

of  typical  land-forms  in  their  physical  relations.  When  made  with 
some  attention  to  artistic  finish  such  models  are  of  great  assistance  in 
teaching. 

Books :  Use  should  be  made  as  far  as  possible  of  the  descriptions 
of  classic  examples  of  land-forms  in  books  of  travel,  survey  reports, 
and  scientific  periodicals,  such  as'  are  generally  accessible  in  the 
libraries  of  the  larger  cities.  A  collection  of  extracts  from  these 
sources,  made  by  the  assistance  of  the  scholars,  may  be  gradually 
accumulated  in  such  variety  as  to  be  of  much  service. 

Other  Materials:  A  collection  of  common  minerals  and  rocks 
should  be  made  use  of  in  describing  the  constitution  of  the  crust  of 
the  earth  on  which  the  carving  of  the  destructive  forces  of  the 
weather  produces  the  land-forms  on  which  we  live.  Care  should  be 
taken  not  to  extend  this  collection  unnecessarily  and  to  exclude  from 
it  all  misrepresentative  specimens.  The  weathering  of  rocks  and  the 
production  of  soils  should  be  illustrated  by  a  special  suite  of 
specimens,  selected  from  the  school  district,  if  possible.  Character- 
istic varieties  of  glacial  drift  deserve  especial  attention  in  the  northern 
states.  Weather  maps  should  be  secured  from  the  nearest  publishing 
station  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  carefully  preserved  from  year  to  year, 
until  examples  of  different  weather  t}rpes  are  obtained  in  sufficient 
variety  ;  the  treatment  of  these  maps  having  been  explained  in  other 
sections  of  this  report. 

In  offering  the  following  suggestions  regarding  the  conduct  of  the 
course  in  physiography,  we  repeat  the  caution  already  expressed 
regarding  the  intention  of  such  suggestions.  It  is  not  in  the  least  our 
purpose  to  constrain  any  teacher  from  the  greatest  individual  freedom 
in  his  work  ;  indeed  the  higher  success  that  we  desire  to  see  can  be 
reached  only  when  the  teacher  is  free  to  apply  his  own  manner  of 
representation,  explanation,  and  illustration.  Yet  we  conceive  that 
the  following  indications  of  the  manner  in  which  the  subject  may  be 
presented  will  be  of  service  to  some  superintendents  and  teachers  in 
making  our  measure  of  the  subject  and  its  educational  value  more 
explicit.  For  the  sake  of  brevity  we  shall  consider  only  that  part 
of  the  subject  that  is  concerned  with  the  development  of  land-forms. 

The  general  conception  of  the  wasting  of  a  land  area  and  the 
ultimate  production  of  a  lowland  of  denudation  from  whatever  form  the 
area  had  in  its  earlier  stages,  deserves  early  and  deliberate  illustration. 
Around  this  fundamental  conception,  the  teacher  ma}'  group  a  variety 
of  facts,  both  local  and  general,  concerning  the  rocks  and  their 
structural  relations  in  the  earth's  crust,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
weather  and  its  summation  in  climate,  on  the  other  hand.  However 
hard  its  rocks,  however  dry  the  climate,  a  lowland  of  faint  relief  is 


GEOGRAPHY.  225 

the  ultimate  form  of  every  land  area  under  the  slow  wasting  of  its 
surface ;  and  during  all  the  progress  of  this  wasting,  a  systematic 
sequence  of  forms  is  exhibited.  The  essential  elements  in  the  study 
are  thus  introduced  early  and  in  their  simplest  form  ;  the  slow  but 
continuous  variation  of  laud  forms  under  these  processes ;  the  long 
duration  of  time  that  must  be  considered,  even  if  not  conceived. 
Every  part  of  the  land  surface  represents  some  stage  in  the  course  of 
its  progress  from  its  beginning  in  constructional  uplifting  or  accumu- 
lation, towards  its  end  as  a  completed  lowland  of  denudation.  Every 
part  of  the  district  around  the  school  must  be  regarded  in  its  true 
light  as  partly  advanced  on  its  way  to  extinction  under  the  ceaseless 
attack  of  the  weather. 

The  particular  consideration  of  rivers,  under  whose  guidance  the 
waste  of  the  land  is  carried  to  the  sea,  may  be  advisably  introduced 
as  the  next  general  heading ;  because,  from  whatever  constructional 
processes  of  accumulation  or  uplift  a  region  had  its  beginning,  there 
are  certain  general  features  of  river-life  common  to  all  regions,  and 
these  may  be  convenient!}'  presented  before  the  different  structural 
kinds  of  land  forms  are  taken  up.  This  serves  not  only  to  impress 
upon  the  scholars  the  systematic  sequence  of  form-changes  during 
the  progress  of  general  denudation,  but  also  to  emphasize  the  many 
features  of  the  land  that  are  associated  with  the  development  of  its 
drainage.  Throughout  this  division  of  the  subject, (particular  care 
should  be  taken  to  bring  the  class  into  sympathy  with  the  subject,  by 
forgetting  for  the  moment  human  measures  of  time  and.  looking  at 
rivers  in  the  way  rivers  would  look  at  themselves.  Thus  are 
examined  the  conditions  that  determine  the  original  drainage  area  of 
a  river,  the  location  of  its  enclosing  divides,  and  the  arrangement  of 
tributary  branches  ;  then  the  quick  deepening  of  its  valle3*s  and  trw 
drainage  of  any  lakes  in  which  its  waters  may  be  at  first  detained ; 
and,  at  the  same  time,  the  development  of  additional  young  side- 
streams,  the  accompanying  subdivision  of  the  drainage  area,  and, 
occasionally,  the  rearrangement  of  discharge  by  the  shifting  of 
divides  under  the  action  of  active  competing  streams  ;  with  the  rapid 
deepening  of  the  valleys  comes  at  first  the  development  and  later 
the  extinction  of  the  water  falls ;  with  the  widening  of  the  valleys 
comes  the  slow  spreading  out  of  land-waste  in  floodplains  where  the 
mature  streams  meander,  and  in  deltas,  where  the  streams  branch 
out  in  "distributaries."  Late  in  river-life,  when  the  inter-stream 
hills  are  wasted  away,  the  old  streams  wander  sluggishly  almost  at 
will  along  ill-defined  courses,  slowly  doing  the  little  that  remains  for 
the  completion  of  their  life-work.  During  the  advance  of  this 
consideration,  specific  examples  may  be  given  of  rivers  in  one  or 
15 


22G  GEOGRAPHY. 

another  sjgge  of  _  development  from  various  parts  of  the  world,  thus 
utilizing  the  maps  and  illustrations  above  described.  The  relation  of 
the  development  of  a  river  to  the  opportunity  for  occupation  of  its 
basin,  or  use  of  its  current  by  man,  supplies  many  interesting  subjects 
for  detaining  the  attention  and  extending  the  understanding  of  the 
class. 

The  river-lesson  may  be  extremely  valuable  in  giving  life  and 
meaning  to  the  commonplace  facts  of  geography  ;  and  especially  in 
bringing  the  class  into  appreciative  relation  with  such  rivers  and 
streams  as  they  may  see  about  their  homes.  A  comparison  of  these 
home  examples  with  others  more  distant  but  in  similar  stages  of 
development,  or  a  contrast  with  others  in  dissimilar  stages  of 
development,  offers  an  admirable  means  of  acquainting  scholars  with 
the  general  facts  of  geography. (  The  citation  of  many  illustrations 
of  river  development  impresses  scholars  with  the  reality  of  the 
changes  of  land  forms,  and  with  the  systematic  sequence  of  these 
changes.  The  face  of  the  earth  thus  comes  to  have  a  new  aspect, 
and  a  long  step  is  made  toward  that  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
life  of  inorganic  nature  which  this  subject  strives  to  promote.  J 

After  gaining  an  understanding  of  changes  in  the  life  of  an  undis- 
turbed river,  the  effects  of  elevation,  depression,  or  deformation  of 
the  land,  or  of  climatic  changes  may  be  introduced.  With  their 
introduction,  an  important  step  is  taken  toward  the  more  complicated 
conditions  of  nature  ;  at  the  same  time,  the  subject  becomes  somewhat 
more  difficult  from  the  necessity  of  maintaining  a  greater  number  of 
factors  in  mind  while  interpreting  the  relations  of  rivers  having  more 
or  less  disturbed  development.  Yet  with  a  deliberate  and  well- 
illustrated  approach  to  this  division  of  the  subject,  it  should  present 
no  serious  difficulty  to  high-school  classes. 

The  consideration  of  regions  of  different  structure,  and  hence  of 
different  surface  expression,  advisably  follows  the  preceding  account 
of  river  development.  While  the  general  arrangement  and  form 
of  valleys  has  there  been  explained,  the  form  of  the  hills,  plateaus, 
ridges  and  mountains  between  the  valleys  now  becomes  the  leading 
object.  The  explanations  of  geological  structure  here  required  will 
v.  present  no  difficulty,  if  the  teacher  has  a  personal  knowledge  of 
such  subjects  from  field  experience ;  but  otherwise  it  is  doubtful  if 
this  plan  of  treatment  can  be  usefully  introduced  into  the  high-school 
course.  In  illustration  of  what  is  here  intended,  we  may  briefl}'  refer 
to  the  group  of  plains  and  plateaus,  characterized  by  possessing  a 
horizontally  stratified  structure.  These  may  be  first  considered v 
according  to  the  condition  of  their  accumulation ;  as  marine  plains, 
lacustrine  plains,  fluviatile  plains,  lava  plains,  snow  plains,  and 


GEOGRAPHY.  2'21 

dust  plains.  Second,  according  to  the  manner  in  which  those  formed 
under  water  have  become  exposed  as  dry  land  ;  as  by  upheaval  from 
beneath  the  sea,  by  down-cutting  of  lake  outlets,  by  evaporation  of 
lake  waters  in  arid  climates,  by  melting  away  of  the  ice  barriers  of 
glacial  lakes.  Third,  according  to  the  expression  of  surface  form  as 
dependent  on  complication  of  structure,  altitude  above  sea-level, 
stage  of  development,  condition  of  climate.  Fourth,  according  to 
the  distribution  of  plains  and  plateaus  of  different  kinds  ;  thus  we  find 
a  young  marine  plain  in  Florida,  an  old  marine  plain,  much  dissected, 
in  West  Virginia  ;  a  young  lacustrine  plain  in  Minnesota  and  Dakota, 
an  older  lacustrine  plain  in  the  Green  River  Basin  of  Wyoming ;  a 
3'oung  lava  plain  in  the  Snake  River  Basin  of  Idaho,  an  older  lava 
plain  in  West  Scotland,  and  so  on.  Mountains  should  receive 
similar  treatment.  Features  of  glacial  origin  deserve  especial  atten- 
tion in  the  northern  states.  Experience  shows  that  when  the 
subdivisions  of  the  land  are  thus  rational!}*  explained,  their  peculiar- / 
ities  are  much  more  easily  remembered,  and  their  relations  tcr 
habitation  and  productions  are  much  more  fully  appreciated.  Just 
as  in  botany  and  zoology,  where  no  attempt  is  made  to  describe  all 
the  forms  of  plants  and  animals  and  their  distribution  over  the  earth, 
but  where  the  scholar  is  shown  the  more  important  forms,  with  their 
correlations,  as  determined,  not  by  apparent  similarity,  but  by 
development ;  so  in  physiography,"  it  is  not  advisable  to  attempt  an 
account  of  all  parts  of  the  earth,  when  only  the  slightest  attention  ' 
could  be  allotted  to  each  ;  it  is  better  to  give  careful  attention  to  the 
more  significant  parts,  and  to  study  these  in  their  natural  relations, 
introducing  a  sufficient  number  of  examples  to  give  a  good  idea  of 
the  distribution  of  various  forms,  and  of  their  relation  to  habitation 
and  production.  By  these  means,  a  better  idea  is  gained  of  the 
features  of  the  earth's  sur.'ac.1,  and  the  scholars  are  enabled  afterwards 
to  recognize  and  enjoy  the  expression  of  the  face  of  nature  when  they  ; 
are  moving  about  over  the  world  in  later  life.  / 

Methods  of  Teaching  Meteorology,  (a)  Intermediate  or  Grammar 
School  Course.  The  simplest  facts  concerning  the  weather  may  be 
introduced  into  observational  studies  as  early  as  the  teacher  desires. 
These  should  be  followed  by  simple  instrumental  records  in  the  fourth 
or  fifth  year,  never  so  complex  or  frequent  as  to  be  burdensome,  so 
that  when  the  sixth  and  seventh  year  of  school  is  reached,  the  scholar 
will  have  gained  an  elementary  but  practical  and  familiar  acquaintance 
with  the  use  of  the  thermometer,  the  wind  vane,  and  the  rain-gauge. 
The  barometer  and  hygrometer  should  be  introduced,  if  possible,  but 
not  so  early  as  the  simpler  instruments.  Habits  of  punctuality,  care, 
neatness,  and  system  may  be  taught  by  keeping  a  record,  and  excellent 


228  GEOGRAPHY. 

arithmetical  practice  may  be  given  in  determining  averages  and  totals  ; 
but  the  teacher  should  take  care  that  the  scholars'  attention  be 
directed  to  the  phenomena  of  atmospheric  changes,  as  well  as  to  their 
intrumental  records. 

»/  Accompanying  the  local  observation  of  weather  elements,  a  simple 
study  of  weather  maps  should  be  introduced  ;  but  this  should  progress 
very  slowly,  in  order  that  the  best  value  may  be  derived  from  it. 
The  following  suggestions  may  be  of  service  in  this  connection. 
Assuming  that  the  school  can  receive  a  supply  of  daily  weather  maps 
for  at  least  a  part  of  the  school  year,  and  that  it  has  access  to  maps 
received  in  earlier  years :  let  the  teacher  select  several  of  the  older 
maps  on  which  the  winds  over  the  country  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  happened  to  be  moving  in  a  systematic  manner,  for 
example,  a  great  volume  of  southerly  winds  moving  northward  from 
the  Gulf  up  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  inland  from  the  South  Atlantic 
Coast,  while  westerly  winds  are  advancing  across  the  great  plains  ; 
or  a  broad  sweep  of  westerly  or  northwesterly  winds  spreading  all 
over  the  eastern  half  of  the  country,  as  during  a  cold  wave.  Draw 
the  wind  arrows  in  heavy  black  lines,  for  easier  seeing ;  such  work 
as  this  may  often  be  entrusted  to  advantage  to  some  of  the  better 
draftsmen  among  the  scholars.  In  order  to  enforce  the  idea  that  the 
whole  lower  part  of  the  atmosphere  is  moving,  and  not  simply  the 
winds  at  certain  stations  of  observation,  draw  many  intermediate 
lines,  accordant  with  the  directions  of  the  wind  arrows  ;  the  length, 
or  heaviness,  of  these  lines  may  be  made  to  indicate  the  velocity  of 
the  winds.  A  series  of  charts  may  thus  be  prepared  with  little 
trouble,  from  which  an  effective  presentation  of  some  of  the  greater 
facts  of  meteorology  can  be  easily  and  clearly  made.  These  maps 
may  be  used  as  the  basis  of  exercises  in  writing ;  the  description 
of  their  wind  movements  deserves  careful  statement.  When  the 
spiral  winds  about  areas  of  high  pressure  and  of  low  pressure  are 
included  in  the  series,  the  scholars  will  find  all  their  powers  of  verbal 
description  called  on  to  enable  them  to  state  the  facts  properly.  The 
continued  use  of  the  maps  will  also  serve  to  impress  man}7  geograph- 
ical facts  on  the  memory. 

t/ Areas  of  cloud  and  rainfall  may  be  treated  in  a  similar  way ;  and 
their  contrast  with  adjacent  areas  of  fair  or  clear  sky  afford  much 
material  for  study  and  description.  The  presence  of  clear  weather  in 
one  region,  while  heavy  rains  are  falling  in  another,  is  thus  taught  in 
a  simple  and  effective  manner. 

The  distribution  of  temperature  should  be  introduced,  first,  by 
entering  the  thermometer  readings  at  the  various  stations  on  the  map 
in  strong  figures,  so  that  a  class  may  easily  see  them ;  and  then 


GEOGRAPHY.  229 

asking  for  verbal  statements  concerning  the  warmer  and  colder  parts 
of  the  country.  By  selecting  maps  in  which  temperature  contrasts 
are  distinct,  many  interesting  exercises  may  be  developed  in  this 
manner.  When  the  idea  of  distribution  of  warmer  and  colder  areas 
is  gained,  it  may  be  suggested  that  one  of  the  class  draw  a  line 
to  separate  all  that  region  which  is  warmer  than  60°,  for  example, 
from  the  region  colder  than  60°.  Similar  lines  may  be  drawn  by 
other  scholars  on  other  maps.  Summer  and  winter  maps  may  be 
compared.  When  the  lines  are  familiar,  they  may  be  named 
"isotherms."  If  the  subject  is  one  in  which  the  teacher  takes 
especial  interest,  and  which  therefore  properly  receives  more  extended 
treatment  than  it  might  otherwise,  an  additional  exercise  may  be 
made  on  a  series  of  lines  at  right  angles  to  the  isotherms  (the  lines 
of  temperature-decrease,  or  the  "  thermometric  gradient"  lines) 
along  which  the  most  rapid  decrease  of  temperature  would  be 
experienced.  Their  trend  is  generally  northward,  but  on  certain 
occasions  their  course  is  peculiarly  deformed  eastward  or  westward. 

Barometer  readings  should  be  treated  in  the  manner  outlined  for 
temperatures.  The  small  difference  of  their  values  will  soon  be 
noted ;  and  the  frequent  occurrence  of  limited  oval  areas  of  slightly 
higher  or  lower  pressure  than  that  of  their  surroundings  will  soon 
attract  the  attention  of  the  scholars.  As  with  temperature,  so  here, 
an  examination  of  the  curved  lines  at  right  angles  to  the  isobars, 
along  which  the  pressure  decreases,  will  prove  instructive  ;  these  lines 
will  converge  towards  the  centre  of  low  pressure  areas,  and  diverge 
from  the  centre  of  high  pressure  areas.  When  the  isobaric  lines  are 
close  together,  the  lines  of  pressure-decrease  should  be  drawn  heavier, 
to  indicate  a  rapid  decrease  of  pressure.  The  rapidity  of  decrease  of 
pressure,  as  indicated  by  the  closeness  of  adjacent  isobars,  should  be 
compared  on  different  maps.  When  the  rate  and  direction  of  decrease 
of  pressure  can  be  talked  about  familiarly  it  may  be  spoken  of  as 
"barometric  gradient."  By  slow  and  patient  work,  even  this 
relatively  advanced  idea  will  be  grasped  by  children  in  the  grammar 
school ;  but  to  attain  success,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the 
work  should  progress  no  faster  than  the  scholars  ask  for  it  by  their 
behavior  with  the  maps.  It  would  be  better  to  have  the  work  thus*" 
far  outlined  extended  over  occasional  exercises  for  a  year  than  to 
hasten  too  fast,  making  apparent  but  unreal,  unsubstantial  progress. 

When    examples   of   winds,    temperatures,    clouds,    rainfall,    and    \s 
pressures  have  been  given  in  sufficient  number,  a  combination  of  two 
elements,  as  wind  and  pressure,  may  be  introduced  ;    and  here,  in 
particular,  the  scholars  should  be  given  time  to  discover  for  them- 
selves the  simple  relations  existing  between  two  such  elements.     We 


230  GEOGRAPHY. 

are  persuaded  that  the  error  is  commonly  made,  in  schools  where 
weather  maps  are  used,  of  going  too  fast  under  the  lead  of  the 
teacher's  brief  explanations,  perhaps  because  the  teachers  themselves 
are  not  %yet  familiar  enough  with  the  great  lessons  that  the  maps  may 
give  ;  thus  not  only  passing  over  many  matters  with  insufficient 
understanding  by  the  scholars,  but  also  preventing  the  practice 
in  discovery  which  here  develops  so  great  an  interest  among  children 
when  they  are  in  a  properly  awakened  state,  and  which  gives  well- 
trained  scholars  so  strong  an  encouragement  in  their  studies.  The 
teacher  should  supply  maps  in  a  proper  order,  he  should  guide  the 
advance  of  the  class  by  judicious  questions  ;  but  he  should  leave 
them  to  find  out  the  simple  meteorological  laws,  such  as  those  which 
associate  the  movement  of  the  winds  with  the  distribution  of 
atmospheric  pressure  ;  the  variation  of  temperature  with  the  direction 
of  the  winds,  etc.  In  this  way,  the  following  principles  may  be 
established  :  The  winds  flow  towards  the  regions  of  lower  pressures, 
but  they  generally  turn  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  lines  of  pressure- 
decrease,  that  is,  to  the  right  of  barometric  gradient.  The  winds 
blow  faster  when  the  pressure  decreases  rapidly,  and  calms  or 
light  breezes  prevail  where  the  pressure  is  comparatively  equable. 
The  winds  blow  in  left-handed  curving  spirals  in  areas  of  low 
pressure,  and  in  right-handed  outward  spirals  in  areas  of  high 
pressure,  and  the}'  are  generally  stronger  in  the  former  than  in 
the  latter.  Southerly  winds  cause  a  rise  of  temperature  ;  northerly 
winds  cause  a  fall  of  temperature.  Areas  of  low  pressure  are 
generally  cloudy,  with  rain  in  summer,  and  with  rain  or  snow  in 
winter ;  areas  of  high  pressure  are  prevailingly  clear  with  warm  days 
and  cool  nights  in  summer,  and  with  cold  weather  and  extremely 
cold  nights  in  winter.  These  areas  move  in  a  general  eastward 
course  over  the  country,  carrying  their  changes  of  wind  and  weather 
with  them,  in  such  a  manner  that  the  stationary  observer  suffers 
changes  from  clear  to  cloudy  weather,  and  from  warm  southerly  to 
cool  northerly  or  westerly  winds  as  they  pass.  Thunderstorms  of 
summer  time  generally  occur  in  the  southeastern  quadrant  of  low 
pressure  areas. 

During  the  advance  of  this  work,  current  weather  maps  may  be 
introduced  to  give  exercise  on  the  problems  in  hand,  whenever  they 
serve  the  purpose  well.  A  connection  may  thus  be  made  between 
the  local  weather  noted  at  the  school  and  the  general  atmospheric 
conditions  over  the  country  ;  and  a  passing  rainstorm,  or  a  strong 
change  of  temperature,  may  be  thus  traced  with  great  interest  and 
profit.  All  through  the  work,  continual  practice  should  be  maintained 
in  formulating  and -writing  the  conclusions  reached  by  study.  As 


GEOGRAPHY.  231 

the  study  advances,  these  written  records  become,  in  effect,  so  many 
compact  generalizations  in  which  the  scholars'  inductions  are 
preserved.  The  training'  of  mental  powers  and  the  encouragement 
given  to  persevering  and  intelligent  stud}7  are  not  among  the  least  of 
the  results  gained  from  work  of  this  kind. 

Without  going  further  through  an  account  of  elementary  exercises, 
based  on  the  weather  map  and  illustrated  by  local  weather  obser- 
vations, we  may  add  a  few  examples  of  subjects  that  may  be  borrowed 
from  meteorology  for  the  aid  of  descriptive  geography.  The 
prevalence  of  westerly  winds  and  the  general  advance  of  areas  of 
high  and  low  pressure  from  west  to  east  may  be  mentioned  as  one  of 
the  strongest  characteristics  of  the  middle  temperate  zone  ;  and  in 
contrast,  the  oblique  northeast  and  southeast  trade  winds,  blowing 
steadily,  with  few  stormy  interruptions,  may  be  instanced  as  a 
prevailing  characteristic  of  the  torrid  zone.  The  greater  intensity  of 
weather  changes  may  be  pointed  out  as  a  feature  of  winter,  when  we 
experience  something  of  frigid  conditions ;  the  less  intensity  of 
weather  change  is  a  feature  of  summer,  when  we  are  visited  by 
almost  torrid  heat.  The  general  increase  of  rain  or  snov/  within 
areas  of  low  pressure,  as  they  approach  the  Atlantic  Coast,  may  be 
used  to  explain  the  aridity  of  our  western  interior  region,  and  of 
other  continental  interiors.  The  smaller  variations  of  temperature 
near  the  coast,  and  particularly  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  than  in  the 
upper  Mississippi  Valley,  may  be  employed  to  teach  one  of  the 
greatest  climatic  contrasts  of  the  world. 

(b)  High  /School  Course.  The  course  in  meteorology  in  the  high 
school  should  be  directed  quite  as  much  towards  a  training  in  the 
methods  of  logical  investigation,  as  towards  imparting  information 
concerning  the  science.  It  should  not  be  attempted  until  after  a 
course  in  physics  is  passed.  For  the  sake  of  brevity,  only  the 
shortest  outline  of  the  work  can  be  introduced. 

Facts  of  local  observation  about  the  school  a'nd  of  extended 
observation  through  the  weather  maps  bring  almost  continuous  but 
variable  movements  of  the  atmosphere  before  the  class.  The 
correlations  discovered  from  the  weather  maps  in  the  grammar  school, 
now  reviewed,  show  a  clear  connection  between  the  movement  of  the 
winds  and  a  variety  of  the  other  weather  elements.  Let  it  therefore 
be  suggested  that  the  cause  of  the  winds  be  the  main  line  of  study, 
leaving  the  associated  phenomena  to  be  examined  and  explained  in 
their  natural  connection  with  the  winds. 

Recalling  the  teaching  of  physics,  it  appears  that  no  cause  for 
atmospheric  movement  is  so  available  as  convection,  that  is,  a  gravi- 
tative  circulatory  movement,  excited  by  differences  of  temperature. 


232  GEOGRAPHY. 

Under  assumed  conditions  as  to  temperature,  the  resulting  distribution 
of  atmospheric  pressure  and  flow  of  the  winds  may  be  deduced  in 
accordance  with  accepted  physical  principles,  and  this  process  may 
be  at  once  contrasted  with  the  inductive  process  by  which  the 
correlations  of  the  weather  maps  were  established.  It  may  be  then 
stated  that  if  the  distribution  of  temperature  over  the  earth  were 
known,  the  general  circulation  of  the  winds  and  the  distribution  of 
pressure  could  be  predicted,  and,  according  to  the  closeness  of 
agreement  afterwards  found  between  these  predictions  and  the  facts, 
the  theor}'  of  the  convectional  cause  of  the  winds  would  be  accepted 
or  rejected,  thus  introducing  the  class  to  a  rational  method  of 
scientific  investigation,  applicable  in  all  manner  of  studies,  as  well  as 
in  meteorology. 

On  perceiving  the  direction  thus  given  to  further  inquiry,  the  study 
of  the  control  and  distribution  of  atmospheric  temperature  is  naturally 
taken  up,  because  it  is  manifestly  needed  before  further  advance  can 
be  made.  Under  this  division  of  the  subject  the  teacher  is  advised 
to  make  clear  the  distinction  between  radiant  solar  energy,  which 
traverses  the  celestial  spaces  in  all  directions  from  the  sun,  and  of 
which  a  very  small  part  reaches  the  earth,  and  the  heat  produced 
when  this  energy  is  acquired  or  absorbed  by  terrestrial  matter. 
i/Interesting  illustrations  of  physical  processes  are  found  in  this 
connection  ;  the  different  rates  of  absorption  of  radiant  energy  by  air, 
water,  and  land,  the  control  of  temperature  by  specific  heat,  latent 
heat,  dynamic  cooling  of  ascending  air  currents,  etc.,  etc. 

The  distribution  of  temperature  on  annual  and  seasonal  isothermal 
charts  may  next  be  studied,  noting  the  prevailingly  high  and  uniform 
temperatures  of  the  torrid  zone,  the  variable  temperature  of  the 
temperate  zone,  and  the  prevailingly  low  temperatures  of  the  frigid 
zones  ;  noting  also  the  small  variations  of  temperature  from  season 
to  season  on  the  oceans,  even  in  relatively  high  latitudes,  while  the 
lands  of  the  temperate  zone  have  extremely  variable  temperatures. 

In  accordance  with  the  theory  of  convectional  circulation,  it  is  now 
possible  to  predict  the  distribution  of  pressure  and  the  flow  of  the 
winds,  on  the  assumption  that  they  are  entirely  the  product  of 
differences  of  temperature  maintained  by  the  sun.  The  predictions 
should  be  carefully  formulated  and  entered  on  a  blank  map  of  the 
world.  A  series  of  annual  and  seasonal  charts  of  pressures  and 
winds  should  then  be  compared  with  the  predicted  consequences  of 
the  theory.  It  will  be  apparent  that  the  theory  is  incomplete,  because 
there  are  many  differences  between  its  predicted  consequences  and 
the  facts ;  but  all  these  differences  are  explained  when  adequate 
account  is  taken  of  the  effect  of  the  earth's  rotation  in  deflecting  the 


GEOGRAPHY.  233 

winds  from  the  gradients  and  in  rearranging  the  distribution  of 
pressures.  A  good  understanding  of  the  general  circulation  of  the 
atmosphere  and  its  seasonal  variations  ma}r  thus  be  gained.  Both  the""} 
value  and  the  danger  of  the  deductive  method,  and  the  importance  of 
continually  confronting  the  consequences  deduced  from  theory  with_ 
the  results  of  observation  may  be  impressed  by  this  lesson. 

On  attaining  a  rational  understanding  of  the  prevailing  winds  of 
the  world,  the  consideration  of  atmospheric  moisture  and  clouds  may 
be  introduced  before  the  study  of  storms  and  rainfall  is  approached. 
In  connection  with  the  formation  of  clouds,  the  effects  of  the 
liberation  of  latent  heat  during  the  condensation  of  vapor  should  be 
deliberately  examined,  as  a  matter  of  much  importance  in  the  larger 
processes  of  convection. 

Tropical  cyclones  offer  the  best  introduction  to  the  study  of  the 
stormy  interruptions  of  the  general  circulation  of  the  atmosphere. 
These  cyclones  are  well-defined  phenomena,  closely  studied  in  certain 
tropical  seas,  and  of  serious  importance  as  dangers  to  navigation. 
The  place  and  season  of  their  origin  and  the  manner  of  their  action 
point  to  the  conclusion  that  they  are  violent  convectional  whirls, 
turning  in  consequence  of  the  earth's  rotation,  and  supplied  with  much 
of  their  energy  from  the  latent  heat  of  the  vapor  that  is  condensed 
to  furnish  their  heavy  rains.  They  exhibit  in  a  small  way  many 
features  already  familiar  in  the  general  circulation  of  the  atmosphere 
around  the  poles.  On  coining  next  to  cyclonic  storms,  and  the  anti- 
cyclonic  areas  of  temperate  latitudes,  which  together  constitute  the 
regions  of  low  and  high  pressure  in  our  weather  maps,  the  presumption 
that  they  are  convectional  phenomena  is  naturally  conceived,  because 
convection  has  been  previously  found  to  be  so  sufficient  a  cause  of  the 
general  circulation  of  the  atmosphere  and  of  tropical  cyclones  ;  but 
on  perceiving  that  our  cyclones  and  anticyclones  are  more  frequent 
and  more  violent  in  winter  than  in  summer,  [jtheir  convectional 
origin  cannot  be  taken  for  granted,  and  other  causes  for  their  action"^' 
must  be  examined.  The  science  of  meteorology  is  at  present 
undecided  on  this  question  ;  although  the  weight  of  evidence  leans 
towards  explaining  the  cyclones  and  anticyclones  of  the  temperate 
zones  as  an  effect  of  irregular  movements  in  the  general  circulation, 
rather  than  as  independent,  spontaneous,  convectional  phenomena.  The 
absence  of  a  demonstrated  settlement  of  this  question  is  not  held  to  be 
good  reason  for  excluding  the  discussion  of  the  causes  of  these  most 
interesting  and  important  phenomena  from  the  range  of  high  school 
study.  ^Students  should  as  carefully  learn  to  hold  open  opinions  on 
disputed  subjects  as  they  are  led  to  believe  firmly  in  the  demonstrable  ) 
propositions  of  geometry.  In  all  argumentative  studies,  the  evidenc^" 


234  GEOGRAPHY. 


J    1 

L 


leading  to  the   conclusions,    and  not  simply  the  conclusions,  should 

I    receive  careful  consideration. 

The  cyclones  and  antic}'clones  of  our  latitudes  are  found  of  great 
importance  not  only  in  explaining  the  changes  of  weather — as  has 
already  been  made  familiar  from  earlier  study  —  but  also  in  the 
determination  of  the  occurrence  of  local  thunderstorms  and  tornadoes  ; 
for  these  are  determined  for  the  most  part  by  instability  produced  by 
the  importation  of  warm  and  cold  currents  about  the  areas  of  low  and 
high  pressure. 

The  distribution  of  rainfall  is  best  introduced  after  the  explanation 
of  winds  and  storms,  both  general  and  local.  It  ma}'  be  used  in 
confirmation  of  the  explanations  already  given  of  the  winds — the 
migrating  equatorial  rains  of  the  doldrums  ;  the  dry  belts  of  the 
trade  winds,  except  where  they  blow  against  mountains,  the  stormy 
rains  of  the  westerty  winds  in  temperate  and  higher  latitudes  ;  the 
subtropical  winter  rains  —  all  these  follow  as  corollaries  of  the 
movements  already  recognized. 

/  A  general  review  of  the  subject  may  be  made  under  the  heading  of 
climate,  where  the  various  phenomena  hitherto  studied  separately  may 
now  be  grouped  geographically,  and  considered  especially  with 
regard  to  their  influence  on  the  development  of  organic  life,  and  on 
the  habitation  of  various  regions  by  man. 


\J 


EXAMINATIONS  FOR  ADMISSION  TO  COLLEGE. 

The  Conference  adopted  the  following  expressions  of  judgment 
as  to  the  terms  of  admission  to  colleges  :  — 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  our  high  schools,  in  fulfilment  of  their  obliga- 
tions to  the  majority  of  their  pupils,  must  shape  their  work  so  as  to  give 
the  best  available  preparation  for  the  average  duties  of  life  without  regard 
to  college  study ; 

And  that  most  high  schools  cannot  maintain  several  distinct  courses 
without  weakening  all,  in  greater  or  less  degree,  by  undue  division  of 
instruction  and  equipment; 

And  that  it  is  desirable  that  alt  pupils  who  have  finished  a  high-school 
course  of  the  better  order  should  be  able  to  enter  college  without  serious 
embarrassment  from  lack  of  adjustment,  even  if  they  shall  corne  to  desire 
to  do  so  only  at  or  near  the  end  of  Iheir  course  in  high  schools,  as  is  so 
often  the  case ; 

And  in  view  of  the  fact,  on  the  other  hand,  that  it  is  desirable  that 
college  graduates,  as  prospective  principals,  teachers,  and  patrons  of  the 
high  schools,  should  be  familiar  by  personal  experience  with  as  much  of 
the  high-school  course  as  practicable,  rather  than  a  special  phase  of  it 
only,  and  so  should  be  in  working  sympathy  with  it ; 


GEOGRAPHY.  235 

And  that,  for  many  additional  reasons,  it  is  desirable  that  there  shall  be 
the  closest  practicable  relations  between  the  colleges  and  high  schools, 
therefore, 

/~  Resolved,  that  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Conference  that  the  colleges  should 
accept  as  preparatory  work,  in  such  due  measure  as  a  fair  estimate  of 
of  their  value  shall  permit,  all  studies  which  the  high  schools  are 
compelled  by  their  conditions  to  teach,  and  that,  in  arranging  their 
requirements  for  admission,  the  colleges  should  make  provision  for  a 
number  of  alternative  subjects  or  adaptive  studies  sufficient  to  permit  the 
high  schools  to  subserve  their  primary  functions  and  at  the  same  time 
prepare  their  students  for  college  without  disadvantageous  dispersion  of 
effort  ; 

Resolved,  that  physiography,  geology,  and  meteorology  should  be  given, 
in  the  terms  of  admission  to  college,  values  equal  to  the  full  extent  of 
the  work  expended  in  their  pursuit. 


urging  the  acceptance  of  physiography,  geology,  and  meteo- 
(    rology  for  admission  to  college,  the  Conference  do  not  urge  that  they 
should  be  required.    '  In  examinations  for  admission  to  college,  the 
N     Conference  suggest  that  physiography  be  given  preference  over  other 
branches  of  geography,  and  that  political  geography  be  required  in. 
connection  with  histoiy. 

Concerning  the  class  of  questions  most  suitable  for  testing  attain- 
ments, this  being  a  subject  submitted  to  the  Conference,  we  suggest  two 
criteria  whicli  should  be  met.  The  questions  should  be  (1)  such  that 
no  student  who  is  not  familiar  with  them  can  be  supposed  to  have  an 
adequate  preparation,  and  (2)  such  that  no  student  who  has  an 
adequate  preparation  can  fail  to  exhibit  it  by  means  of  them  (time 
and  other  necessary  conditions  being  granted).  These  criteria,  we 
think,  will  be  best  met  by  the  selection  of  broad  but  fundamental 
topics,  rather  than  by  narrow  and  special  questions  on  which  the 
student  might  fail  although  well  trained  011  the  subject  in  general. 
In  attempting  to  treat  the  fundamental  topics  recommended  the  can- 
didates will  show  the  precise  character  of  their  command  of  the  sub- 
ject. If  that  is  loose  and  superficial  it  will  appear  in  their  papers  ;  if 
it  is  thorough  and  precise,  that  will  appear  ;  if  it  is  a  mere  memorized 
knowledge  of  facts,  that  will  be  shown  ;  if  it  is  a  keen  analytical  per- 
ception of  causes,  agencies,  and  processes,  that  will  be  indicated. 
When  such  topics  are  set,  the  candidates  cannot  either  succeed  or  fail 
by  the  mere  hazard  of  questions.  Their  opportunities  are  ample. 
And  if  the  judgment  on  their  papers  rests,  as  it  should,  on  the  nature 
of  the  knowledge  and  training  shown,  and  not  simply  on  the  fact  that 
something  has  been  written,  a  true  estimate  may  be  formed.  "Catch 
questions"  have  no  place  in  an  examination  for  college.  Among  the 


236  GEOGRAPHY. 

topics  that  may  be  employed  in  such  an  examination,  the  following 
are  selected  as  illustrations :  Forms  of  projection  used  in  maps  ; 
interpretation  of  topographic  maps  (as  a  part  of  the  required  work  in 
physiography)  ;  the  natural  history  of  a  river  or  a  land  area;  the 
topography  of  a  familiar  district  expressed  by  sketch  maps  and  by  an 
outline  of  the  region  and  history  of  its  topographic  features  ;  the 
significant  features  of  one  of  the  continents  and  of  its  drainage  sys- 
tems ;  the  physical  features  of  the  United  States  ;  the  character  of 
ocean  basins  ;  the  relation  of  the  true  continental  border  to  the  water 
line  ;  the  essential  facts  of  the  distribution  of  rainfall,  of  temperature, 
of  atmospheric  pressure,  and  of  atmospheric  circulation  ;  the  char- 
acter and  distribution  of  glaciers;  the  distribution  of  volcanoes,  of 
deserts,  and  the  significance  of  the  latter  ;  cyclones  and  anticyclones  ; 
the  distribution  of  plants  and  animals. 

It  is  with  the  deepest  regret  that  the  Conference  are  called  upon  to 
report  the  death  of  one  of  their  number,  Mr.  Delwyn  A.  Hamlin, 
Ma^t£jr,pf  the  Rice  Training  School  of  Boston.  Mr.  Hamlin  met 
w  Committee  at  Chicago,  and  was  in  full  harmony  with  the 

u  **  of  this  report.  His  death,  May  25th,  occurred  before 

tl;  (  iu  *  were  attached  to  the  revised  report. 

PIT  sot  Edwin  J.  Houston  dissents  from  some  of  the  recommen- 
dati  of  this  report. 

A.I  oi  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

T.    C.    CHAMBERLIN,     University    of    Chicago, 

Chicago,  III. 
GEORGE     L.     COLLIE,    Beloit    College,    Beloit, 

Wis. 
W.  M.   DAVIS,   Harvard    University,  Cambridge, 

Mass. 
*  DELWYN    A.    HAMLIN,     Master    of    the     Rice, 

Training  School,  Boston,  Mass. 
MARK  W.  HARRINGTON,  The  Weather  Bureau, 

Washington,  D.C. 
CHARLES    F.   KING,    Dearborn    School,  Boston, 

Mass. 
FRANCIS    W.  PARKER,    Principal  of  the  Cook 

County  Normal  School,  Englewood,  III. 
ISRAEL  C.    RUSSELL,    University  of  Michigan, 

Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 
*  Deceased. 


OF  THE 
GEOGRAPHY.  237 


July,  1893. 
To  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  TEN, 

PRESIDENT  CHARLES  W.  ELIOT,  Chairman:  — 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  sincerely  regret  my  inability  to  agree  with  the 
Majority  Report  of  the  Conference  on  Geography  (including  Geology 
and  Meteorology)  appointed  by  your  Committee  to  meet  at  the  Cook 
County  Normal  School,  Chicago,  Illinois,  on  December  28th,  29th 
and  30th  ult.  I,  therefore,  respectfully  beg  leave  to  submit  the 
following  Minority  Report,  containing  a  brief  statement  of  some 
of  the  respects  in  which  I  differ  from  the  conclusions  reached  by 
the  rest  of  the  Conference  as  embodied  in  their  Report. 

I  have  before  me  two  Majority  Reports  ;  the  first,  consisting  of 
some  fifteen  pages  of  typewritten  matter,  fairly  embodying  the  con- 
clusions reached  by  the  majority  of  the  Conference  during  the  confer- 
ence ;  the  second  and  later  report,  consisting  of  some  forty-six 
pages  of  typewritten  matter,  containing  suggestions  afterw  '"*  ^ade 
by  the  members  individually.  In  my  judgment  the  no  1i- 

tional  matter  is  so  badly  interwoven  into  the  body  of          ,  ,  as 

to  produce  a  lack  of  precision,  which  renders  it  diffi  it,:!}*»  T» 
respects,  to  ascertain  exactly  what  conclusions  have  been  i\  'ied  by 
the  gentlemen  signing  it.  The  recommendations  of  the  two  1&f?;orts, 
however,  are  csseutiall}'  the  same. 

While  the  Majority  Report  contains  much  excellent  material,  I  am, 
nevertheless,  reluctantly  compelled  to  differ  from  many  of  its  funda- 
mental conclusions  and  suggestions. 

I  agree  with  the  statement  in  the  Majority  Report  that  "It  ^'d 
not  seem  advisable  to  greatty  modify  the  range  of  subjects  us1  r 
embraced  under  the  term  geograplry."  Unfortunately,  what  I  most 
strongly  object  to  in  the  Report,  is  the  fact  that  it  greatly,  and  I 
think  unwarrantably,  modifies  such  range  of  subjects. 

The  Majority  Report  states  "  The  natural  order  of  geographical 
subjects  seems,  therefore,  to  be  the  following  : 

1.  "  Elementary  Geography,  a  broad  treatment  of  the  earth  and  its 
inhabitants  and  institutions,  to  be  pursued  in  the  primary,  intermediate 
and  lower  grammar  grades." 

2.  "Physical  Geography,  a  more  special  but  still  broad  treatment 
of  the  physical  features  of  the  earth,  atmosphere  and  ocean,  and  of 
the  forms  of  life  and  their  physical  relations,  to  be  pursued  in  the 
later  grammar  grades." 

3.  "Physiography,  a  more  advanced  treatment  of  our  physical 
environment   in   which    the    agencies    and    processes    involved,   the 
origin,    development,    and   decadence   of  the    forms  presented,  and 


238  GEOGRAPHY. 

the  significance  of  the  features  of  the  earth's  face  are  the  lead- 
ing themes,  to  be  pursued  in  the  later  high-school  or  the  carl}* 
college  3'ears." 

4.  "  Meteorology,  a  specialized  study  of  atmospheric  phenomena, 
to  be  offered  by  schools  that  are  prepared  to  do  so  property,  as  an 
elective  in  the  later  high-school  years." 

5.  "  Geology,  a  study  of  the  earth's  structure  and  its  past  history, 
to  be  offered  by  schools  prepared  to  do  so  properly,  as  an  elective  in 
the  last  year  of  the  high  school  course." 

The  proposed  distribution  of  these  subjects  in  point  of  time  is  as 
follows:  viz.,  1  and  2  are  to  extend  through  all  the  primary,  inter- 
mediate and  grammar  grades  ;  3,  4,  and  5  are  either  assigned  to  the 
later  high-school  course,  or  are  to  be  elected  during  the  last  high- 
school  or  early  college  year. 

KThe  break  thus  introduced  in  the  sequence  of  geographical  studies 
is,  in  my  judgment,  exceedingly  inadvisable.  The  advantages  of  the 
continued  study  of  an}'  subject  are  generally  recognized  by  educators. 
If  an  intermission  of  several  years  in  the  geographic  studies  is  per- 
mitted, between  the  grammar  grades  and  the  latter  part  of  the  high- 
school  course,  much  time  will  necessarily  be  lost  in  again  bringing 
the  mind  of  the  student  to  the  point  it  reached  when  it  temporarily 
abandoned  these  studies. 

p*  But,  apart  from  this,  the  proposition  to  replace  the  general  subject 
of  plrvsical  geography  in  the  high  school  by  specialized  branches  of 
the  science,  appears  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  worst  features  of  the 
Majority  Report,  and  its  adoption,  I  believe,  would  work  an  irreparable 
injury  to  the  intelligent  study  of  natural  science  not  only  in  the 
schools,  but  also  in  the  colleges  and  universities. 

The  peculiar  fitness  of  physical  geography  for  the  presentation  and 
classification  of  geographic  facts  is  well  known.  Under  its  general- 
izations, the  numerous,  and,  to  the  child,  the  often  disconnected  facts 
of  geography  fall  into  orderly  groupings,  and  much  that  has  hitherto 
perplexed  and  harassed  its  naturally  iuquisite  mind,  first  finite 
intelligent  explanation. 

In   my  long  experience  as   a  teacher  of  natural  science,  I  have 

found  the  study  of  physical  geography  always  to  attract,  and  often 

to  charm  the  mind  of  the  student.     Moreover,  physical   geography 

forms  the  natural  introduction  to  elementary  natural  science,  since  it 

treats  of  the  causes   and   effects  of   the   things   that   are   constantly 

before  the  child's  observation,     tlere  is  taught,  or  should  be  taught, 

fthe  mutual  interdependence  of  the  three  dead  geographic  forms,  the 

/ 1  land,  the  water  and   the  air,  and  the  two  living  forms,  plant  and 

animal  life.     The  proposition  to  change  all  this  for  the  doubtful  and 


GEOGRAPHY.  239 

untried  advantages  of  a  so-called  new  study  is,  I  think,  unwarranted  7 
and  means  retrogression  and  not  progression. 

A  tendency  unfortunately  exists  in  educational  circles  to  decry  all 
that  is  old,  aud  to  laud  and  magnify  all  that  is  new.  Such  is  the 
fruit  of  specialism,  not  of  broad  culture.  The  minds  of  the  geologist 
and  meteorologist,  in  my  opinion,  are  too  evident  in  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  Majority  Report.  The  advantages  of  the  special 
departments  of  geology  and  meteorology  have,  I  fear,  been  so 
magnified  as  to  prevent  the  intelligent  consideration  of  the  remaining 
branches,  the  study  of  which  is  equally  necessary  for  the  broad 
culture  of  the  child. 

While  I  agree  with  the  Majority  Report  that  the  work  of  the 
earlier  and  intermediate  grades  should  deal  "  Not  only  with  the  face 
of  the  earth  but  with  elementary  considerations  in  astronomy, 
meteorology,  zoology,  and  botany,  etc.,"  I  do  not  do  so  entirely 
for  the  reason  assigned;  namely,  that  "Unless  this  admixture  of 
subjects  is  fairly  included  under  the  elementary  courses  of  geography 
man}*  scholars  will  not  gain  a  knowledge  of  even  the  outlines  of 
these  important  subjects,"  but  mainly  because  I  regard  elementary 
geography  as  practically  identical  with  elementary  natural  science, 
which  I  firmly  believe  should  form  as  essential  a  part  of  primary 
education  as  either  language  or  number.  The  child,  in  my  judgment, 
should  be  taught  the  elementary  facts  of  natural  science  along  with 
its  letters.  The  study  of  nature  should  form  a  large  part  of  its  first 
school  work,  if,  indeed,  not  the  onl}'  part. 

That  characteristic  of  childhood  which  finds  expression  in  intense 
curiosity  as  to  the  why  of  the  things  it  sees  around  it,  and  which 
leads  it,  when  intelligent,  to  pour  into  the  ears  of  its  unwilling  adult 
auditors,  a  deadly  fusilade  of  questions  that  too  frequently  discloses 
their  ignorance,  can,  if  properly  directed,  be  made  in  the  study  of 
elementary  geography  of  considerable  importance  to  early  education. 
Children  are  close  observers  and  possess  the  faculty  of  imagination 
to  a  degree  much  greater  than  is  generally  credited.  Let  then  the 
first  lessons  of  the  child  be  limited  to  the  things  it  can  see  and 
handle,  and  much  will  be  done  to  ensure  success. 

I  would  recommend  that  in  elementary  geographical  work,  no  text- 
books be  permitted  to  be  used  ;  at  least,  no  books  such  as  those  in 
general  use,  and  that  only  those  parts  of  the  earth  be  studied  where 
the  child  lives,  and  only  those  things  on  such  parts  with  which  the  , 
child  is  brought  into  actual  contact,  either  in  the  house,  along  the 
streets  or  roads,  on  the  playground,  or  in  the  school  room.  Such  a 
study  of  geography  will  naturally  prove  of  great  benefit  to  the  child, 
and  will  form  the  best  method  of  ensuring  interest  in  its  studies, 


240  GEOGRAPHY. 

because   it  deals   with   objects  that   come   within  the   range   of   its 
observation. 

I  entirely  disagree  with  the  Majority  Report  in  the  following 
statement  regarding  the  time  now  devoted  to  the  study  of  geography 
and  the  results  of  such  work  ;  viz., 

"  In  general,  however,  it  is  the  judgment  of  the  Conference  that 
too  much  time  is  given  to  the  subject  in  proportion  to  the  results 
secured.  It  is  not  their  judgment  that  more  time  is  given  to  the 
subject  than  it  merits,  but  that  either  more  should  be  accomplished 
or  less  time  taken  to  attain  it." 

In  the  first  place  I  respectfully  submit  that  the  statement  is  no 
truer  of  geography  than  of  any  other  study  of  the  lower  grades. 
Indeed,  I  doubt  if  it  is  as  true  of  geography  as  it  is  of  either  number 
or  language.  The  excellent  work  in  geography  that  is  now  being 
done  by  a  large  proportion  of  the  lower  grades  of  schools,  gener- 
ally throughout  the  United  States,  will,  I  feel  assured,  in  its 
results,  compare  favorably  with  those  attained  in  either  number  or 
language. 

For  the  general  purposes  of  classification,  the  studies  of  the  lowest 
schools  may  be  conveniently  arranged  under  the  following  general 
heads  ;  viz.,  physical  science,  number  and  language. 

I  would  introduce  physical  science  in  the  lowest  schools  by  the 
study  of  geography,  which  in  its  earliest  stages  should  be  strictly 
limited  to  observations  of  the  simplest  natural  phenomena.  As 
already  remarked  in  its  earliest  stages,  geography  should  be  limited 
in  place,  to  a  description  of  that  part  of  the  earth  where  the  child 
lives,  and  in  subject  matter,  to  those  things  which  it  sees,  handles, 
and  compares. 

I  would  earnestly  recommend  that  the  child's  first  lessons  in 
language  be  given  through  the  medium  of  natural  science  thus 
introduced  by  elementary  geography.  I  believe  that  a  great  advan- 
tage would  be  derived  in  so  teaching  a  child  language  in  connection 
with  the  studies  in  physical  science.  And  this  without  that  "  Dawd- 
ling and  dwelling  on  trivialities  "  which  I  agree  with  the  Conference 
in  unqualifiedly  condemning.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  I  would 
not  urge  undue  pressing  of  the  work,  "  In  order  that  the  time  given 
to  geography  may  be  shortened."  In  all  early  school  work  it  is  best 
to  make  haste  slowly. 

But,  apart  from  this,  I  do  not  believe  that  geography,  as  a  branch  of 
i/  elementary  natural  science,  can  advantageously  be  crowded  into  fewer 
terms  by  devoting  to  it  a  greater  number  of  hours  per  term.     What- 
ever may  be  the  advantages  derived  from  such  a  plan  in  either  number 
or  language   work,  I  do   not  believe  that  they  exist  in  elementary 


GEOGRAPHY.  241 

science  work.  Early  scientific  ideas  to  become  well  grounded  should 
be  of  gradual  growth.  Like  all  ideas  based  on  observation,  time 
forms  an  important  factor  in  their  acquirement ;  time  for  the  observa- 
tions to  be  made  ;  time  for  them  to  be  thoroughly  absorbed  ;  time 
for  them  to  be  intelligently  observed,  and  time  for  the  correct 
conclusions  to  be  reached.  In  mere  memorizing  studies,  hurry  may 
possess  advantages,  but  in  elementary  scientific  studies  the  time 
element  is  of  prime  importance. 

It  is  not,  however,  in  the  lower  grades  only  that  the  Committee 
express  their  belief  that  too  much  time  is  expended  in  teaching 
geography.  They  urge  the  same  as  regards  the  higher  grades.  It 
is  indeed  especially  in  the  higher  grades,  in  the  study  of  physical 
geography,  that  they  believe  marked  changes  are  necessary ;  and 
this,  as  I  understand  it,  is  a  result  of  the  experience  or  belief  of 
least  a  majority  of  the  Conference,  that  not  only  the  study  of  geog- 
raphy in  general,  but  of  physical  geography  in  particular  has  failed 
to  awaken  the  interest  or  arouse  the  enthusiasm  of  the  pupils.  An 
experience  of  nearly  twenty  years  in  teaching  physical  geography,  I 
am  happy  to  say,  is  directly  at  variance  with  this  conclusion.  On 
the  contrary,  I  have  invariably  found  this  study  to  awaken  the 
liveliest  interest  and  not  infrequently  to  arouse  marked  enthusiasm. 
Nor  do  I  believe  that  the  general  experience  of  teachers  in  this 
respect  would  bear  out  the  opinion  expressed  by  the  Majority  Report. 
Should,  however,  the  facts  be  as  claimed  in  some  localities,  for  I 
cannot  credit  such  to  be  generally  true,  it  would  seem  that  this 
deplorable  state  of  affairs  is  due  to  that  very  lack  of  definiteness  and 
want  of  logical  order  of  sequence,  which  I  regret  to  believe  charac- 
terizes both  the  matter  and  the  recommendations  of  much  of  the 
Majority  Report. 

I  would  suggest  the  following  topics  as  properly  coming  under  the 
head  of  general  geography  ;  viz., 

1.  Elementary  geography,  consisting  entirely  of -the  simplest  facts 
of  physical  geography. 

2.  Descriptive  geography. 

3.  Mathematical  geography. 

4.  Political  geography. 

5.  Physical  geography,  including  a  systematic  classification  and 
co-ordination  of  the  more  or  less  disconnected  facts  studied  under 
heads  1,   2,    3,    and   4,    including   the   new   facts   that   will   neces- 
sarily  present   themselves    as   a   result   of    such    classification   and 
coordination. 

I  would,  as  already  stated,  limit  the  early  study  of  geography  to 
the  simplest  elementary  ideas  of  physical  geography. 
16 


242  GEOGRAPHY. 

As  the  child  advances  in  its  observations  of  the  earth  immediately 
around  it,  the  study  of  descriptive,  mathematical,  and  political 
geography  should  begin  ;  that  is  to  say,  after  elementary  natural 
geography  has  been  sufficiently  taught,  the  other  branches  of  geog- 
raphy are  to  be  studied  together.  In  this  respect  I  quite  agree  with 
the  ideas  advanced  by  the  Majority  Report.  I  feel  convinced,  how- 
ever, that  not  only  should  geographical  studies  continue  through  all 
grades  to  the  high  school,  but  also  that  physical  geography  should  be 
taken  up  during  the  first  year  or  two  of  the  high-school  course,  rather 
than  during  the  last  }'ear.  I  believe  this  because  I  am  convinced  that 
-the  study  of  physical  geography  is  necessary  to  properly  generalize 
and  systematize  the  heterogeneous  collection  of  facts  embraced  under 
ordinary  geography,  and  I  believe  that  this  should  be  done  immed- 
iately at  the  close  of  such  general  geographical  studies  and  not  only 
along  with  them. 

In  the  intermediate  grades  considerable  attention  should  be  given 
to  maps  and  map  drawing.  In  all  cases,  however,  such  studies 
should  be  preceded  by  ideas  of  relative  size  and  direction.  The 
meaning  of  parallels  and  meridians  should  be  thoroughly  taught 
before  any  extended  work  is  attempted  on  maps.  For  this  purpose 
the  use  of  a  spherical  blackboard,  or  a  large  blackboard  or  blackened 
sphere  so  prepared  as  to  be  readily  used  with  chalk  is  recommended. 
Smaller,  individual,  spherical  blackboards  can  also  be  advantageously 
employed  for  individual  use  by  the  pupils. 

I  heartily  agree  with  the  Majority  Report  as  regards  the  value  of 
the  repeated  use  of  maps,  and  of  the  necesshy  for  teaching  the  child 
how  to  interpret  them  intelligently. 

^-*-As  regards  the  presentation  of  physical  geography  I  would  suggest 
the  following  arrangement  of  topics,  based  mainly  on  Giryot's  plan, 
as  being,  in  my  experience,  an  order  of  sequence  that  has  invariably 
given  good  results. 
(jL)  The  Inside  of  the  Earth. 

The  Heated  Interior  and  its  Effects. 

2.   The  Outside  of  the  Earth. 

a.  The  Land. 

b.  The  Water. 

c.  The  Air. 
c?.   Plants. 

e.   Animals,  including  Man. 

In  teaching  these  topics  I  would  suggest  the  following  order : 
|     1.   What  is  it?     Definition. 

2.  Where  is  it?     Distribution. 

3.  Why  is  it?     Cause. 


GEOGRAPHY.  243 

1.  What  is  it  ?     Definition. —In  physical  geography,  as  indeed  in 
all  studies,  definite  ideas  must  be  had  as  to  what  the  thing  studied  is. 
Clear  and  concise  definitions  should  be  given,  the  definitions,  as  far 
as  possible,  being  vitalized  either  by  the  thing  itself,  or  by  a  picture  of 
the  thing,  if  the  thing  itself  cannot  be  readily  obtained. 

2.  Where  is  it  1     Distribution.  —  Clear  ideas  of  the  distribution  of 
the  five  geographic  forms  is  a  matter  of   prime  importance  in  the 
study  of  physical  geography,  in  order  that  the  effects  of  each  form 
on  the  > other  can  be  thoroughly  understood. 

It  is  under  this  second  head  that  the  knowledge  of  map  drawing, 
alreacty  taught  in  the  lower  grades,  can  be  applied  as  follows : 

The  student  should  be  required  to  draw  an  outline  map  of  the  earth, 
preferablv_an  a  Mercator's  prftjp,(*.t.irmT  and  to  represent  thereon,  as  they 
are  studied,  the  distribution  of  the  different  classes  of  features  or  forms-  o 

If  the  work  under  this  second  head  be  intelligently  directed,  most 
of  the  facts  already  acquired  in  the  lower  grades  can  now  be  grouped 
or  arranged  in  a  systematic  form,  and,  when  complemented  by  the 
third  step,  will  be  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  science. 

3.  Why  is  it?     Cause. — The  study  of  the  causes  that  have  pro^~ 
duced  the  present  features  of  the  earth,  or  are  now  modifying  them, 
constitute  an  exceedingly  important  part  of  physical  geography,  and 
should  be  carefully  insisted  on  ;   indeed,  the  effects  of  these  causes 
should  be  taught  throughout  the  entire  course  of  geography,  from  the 
primary  grades  to  the  end.     The  extent,  however,  to  which  effects 
should  be  traced  to  their  causes  will  of  necessit}r  vary  with  the  work 
of  the  different  grades.     It  is  in  this  final  study  of  the  subject  in  the 
early  high  school  years  that  the  relations  between  causes  and  effects 
should  receive  their  most  extended  treatment. 

I  agree  with  the  Majority  Report  as  regards  the  importance  of  the 
study  of  the  causes  that  have  produced  and  modified  or  are  now 
modifying  the  physical  features  of  the  earth.  I  would  not,  however, 
limit  the  study  of  these  causes  in  the  high-school  course  to  what  the 
Report  calls  physiography,  which  is  practically  limited  to  the  land 
areas,  but  would  extend  it  equally  to  the  ocean  and  atmosphere  and 
to  the  Mfe  of  the  earth  generally  ;  for,  if  the  study  be  thus  limited  to 
the  land,  and  is  not  equally  extended  to  the  effects  such  changes  in 
the  land  and  water  areas  have  on  climate  and  especially  upon  plant 
and  animal  life,  it  loses  much  of  its  broad  cultural  value. 

A  study  of  physical  geography  based  on  the  scheme  I  have  outlined 
cannot,  in  my  judgment,  fail  to  possess  great  attractiveness  to  the 
student,  and  to  prove  an  important  factor  in  ensuring  broad  mental 
culture. 

Whatever  differences  of  opinion  may  exist  as  to  the  proper  methods 


244  GEOGRAPHY. 

of  teaching  geography  in  the  primary  grades,  I  think  there  should  be 
no  doubt  as  to  the  method  best  suited  to  the  high-school  grade. 
Here  I  would  invariably  begin  each  topic  by  a  concise  and  accurate 

t  statement  of  the  principles  which  modern  science  has  discovered  con- 
cerning it.     If  science  is  not  agreed  as  to  such  principles,  I  would 
I  give  the  general  consensus  of  opinion,  carefully  avoiding  controversial 
1  matter,  except  in  the  highest  grades  of  the  work. 

Having  concisely  stated   the   principles,  I  would  show  how  such 

principles  .can  be  deduced  from  the  observations  already  made.by  the 

student,  either  from  the  standpoint  of  work  actually  required  in  the 

lower  grades,  or,  in  the  absence  of  this,  from  the  observations  it  ma}' 

reasonabl3T  be  assumed  the  student  has  made  for  himself,  outside  of 

school  work,  pointing  out  how  the  interpretation  of  such  observations 

necessarily  leads  to  the  scientific  law  already  stated,  supplying  where 

necessary  the  missing  links.     In  this  manner  the  law  as  stated  may 

be  shown  to  be  presumably  correct.     I  think  this  preferable  to  an}' 

,,attempt  to  make  the  students  deduce  the  law  themselves.     In  other 

f"  words,  the  scheme  proposed  would  not  attempt  to  build  up  the  science 

by  observations,  but  rather  to  inake  the   observations  confirm  the 

(^  already  deduced  law. 

Moreover,  in  their  recommendation  to  place  additional  subjects  in 
the  requirements  for  admission  to  college,  the  Conference  go  beyond 
the  purpose  for  which  they  were  appointed;  viz.,  "  To  consider  the 
proper  limits  ....  the  best  method  of  instruction,  the  most  desir- 
able allotment  of  time  for  the  subject,  the  best  method  of  testing 
pupils'  attainments  therein  ....  of  each  principal  subject  which 
enters  into  the  programme  of  secondary  schools  in  the  United  States 
and  in;o  the  requirements  for  admission  to  college."  The  Conference 
exceed  their  powers  : 

1.  In  proposing  new  studies  for  the  secondary  schools. 

2.  In  naming  subjects  not  required  for  admission  to  colleges. 

3.  In  recommending  the  dropping  of  a  subject  now  specially  men- 
tioned as  one  of  the  requirements  for  admission  to  many  colleges. 

Among  the  colleges  that  require  physical  geography  in  their 
entrance  examinations  I  would  mention  the  following :  namely, 
the  Sheffield  School  of  Science,  the  Boston  Polytechnic  Institute, 
Princeton  University,  University  of  Kansas,  Cornell  College,  Iowa, 
University  of  Wisconsin,  Swarthmore  College,  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, University  of  Michigan,  Cornell  University,  etc.,  etc. 

The  Majority  Report  is  characterized  by  a  curious  and  persistent 
insistance  as  to  the  peculiar  claims  of  physiography, 'which  it  styles 
advanced  and  modernized  physical  geography. 


GEOGRAPHY.  245 

I  radically  disagree  with  the  recommendations  of  the  Majority 
Report  in  this  respect.  It  is  not  that  I  object  so  much  to  the  use  of 
the  term  physiography,  since  I  agree  with  the  Conference  that  names 
are  of  little  importance,  provided  their  significance  is  fully  under- 
stood. To  my  mind,  however,  the  word  physiography  is  vague  and 
misleading.  Its  meaning,  as  indicated  by  its  etomology,  is  a  drawing 
of  nature,  and  this  is  the  sense  in  which  Huxley  employed  it  to  cover 
the  subject  matter  of  a  certain  course  of  lectures,  on  natural  phenom- 
ena in  general,  and  on  the  basin  of  the  Thames  in  particular.  Unless 
it  is  specifically  stated  as  to  what  the  natural  drawing  is,  no  precise 
meaning  is  conveyed  by  the  word. 

The  meaning  of  physiographic  as  an  adjective  is  more  definite  ;  for 
example,  physiographic  geology.  But  even  here  authorities  are  at 
variance.  Dana  limits  the  scope  of  physiographic  geology  u  To  a 
general  survey  of  the  earth's  surface  features."  Clearly,  however, 
such  a  limitation  is  not  intended  by  the  Majority  Report,  which 
would  include  dynamical  geology.  The  Majority  Report  would  make 
physiography  include  not  only  a  survey  of  the  earth's  present 
features,  but  also  an  account  of  the  agencies  or  forces  that  have 
produced  or  are  now  producing  or  modifying  such  features.  But 
this  is  what  Prestwich  calls  physical  geology,  by  which  he  means 
Physical  and  Stratigraphical  Geology  as  distinguished  from  Paleanto- 
logical  Geology ;  the  one  deals  with  inorganic  and  the  other  with 
organic  matter. 

Geike  defines  physiographic  geology  as  "  That  branch  of  geological 
inquiry  which  deals  of  the  evolution  of  the  existing  contours  of 
dry  land,"  and  this  it  would  appear  comes  nearest  to  the  meaning 
given  to  physiography  by  the  Majority  Report. 

But  it  is  primarily  the  study  of  geography  and  not  geology  that  the 
Conference  is 'considering,  arid,  if  a  new  term  is  needed,  it  would  seem 
that  physiographic  geography  would  be  indicated.  The  existence  of 
the  well-known  term  physical  geography,  in  my  opinion,  renders  the 
coining  of  the  new  word  inadvisable. 

The  uncertainty  surrounding  the  name  physiography  is  recognized 
by  the  Century  Dictionary,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  definition ; 
viz.,  "A  word  of  rather  variable  meaning,  but,  as  most  generally 
used,  nearly  or  quite  the  equivalent  of  physical  geography." 

Let  us  now  look  into  the  Majority  Report  as  regards  its  recom- 
mendations for  the  high-school  course. 

Concisely  these  recommendations  are  that  physical  geography  be 
dropped  out  of  the  high-school  course,  and  be  taken  up  in  connection 
with  elementary  geography  as  now  taught  in  the  secondary  and 
elementary  grades. 


246 


GEOGRAPHY. 


It  is  proposed  to  replace  physical  geography  by: 

1 .  Physiography 

2.  Meteorology, 
and,  provisionally, 

3.  Geology. 

In  order  to  criticize  intelligently  this  selection  of  topics  proposed 
for  the  high-school  course,  a  brief  review  of  the  topics  included  under 
the  head  of  physical  geography  may  be  of  value.  Physical  geography 
treats  in  general  of  the  distribution,  etc.,  of  the  land,  water,  air, 
plants  and  animals. 

Tabulating  the  many  branches  of  science  which  come  under  this 
very  general  heading,  we  have  the  following;  viz., 


PHYSICAL 
GEOGRAPHY 


1.  Land 


2.  Water 


3.  Air 


4.  Plants 


a.  The  interior  of  earth 


b.  The  crust  of  earth 


1.  Volcanology. 

2.  Seismology. 

1.  Formation  &  changes  —  Physiography. 

2.  Land  masses. 


f  Orography. 
1  3.  Relief  forms                -I 

1. 

Continental 

I  Topography. 

2. 

Oceanic 

C       Oceanography  or 
-I 

[Hydrography. 

^      Thalassography          ^ 

1. 

Climate 

—      Climatology 

2. 

Winds  &  storms 

—      Anemography 

-  Meteorology. 

3. 

Precipitation 

—      Hyetology 

. 

Botany  or 

1 

Phytology 

•  Biology. 

Zoology 

f      Zoological  g(  igraphy 

(^       Ethnographj 

In  place  of  the  varied  topics  thus  embraced  under  the  term 
physical  geography,  portions  from  nearly  all  of  which  have  already 
been  necessarily  introduced  into  the  studies  of  the  lower  grades, 
we  have  the  exceedingly  limited  range  of  topics  embraced  mainly 
under  a  subdivision  of  the  land  ;  viz.,  that  relating  to  the  formation 
and  changes  of  the  crust,  or  physiography. 

It  is  true  that  the  study  of  the  water,  as  far  as  relates  to  the  actions 
of  rivers,  lakes,  glaciers,  etc.,  is  included  among  the  causes  of  these 
changes,  but  their  study  is  only  incidental. 

I  have  not  included  geology  in  the  above  tabular  review,  since, 
generally  speaking,  geology  may  be  regarded  as  practically  treating 
of  the  same  topics  as  phj'sical  geography,  with,  however,  this  dis- 
tinction ;  i.  e.  that  geology  is  properly  limited  to  a  study  of  the  earth 
as  it  was,  and  physical  geography  to  the  earth  as  it  is. 


GEOGRAPHY.  247 

That  I  am  correct  in  my  estimate  of  the  limited  scope  of  physiog- 
raphy, as  the  Majority  Report  understands  it,  will,  I  think,  appear 
from  the  following  extracts  from  the  report  itself ; 

On  page  5,  "  But  this  would  be  made  relatively  subordinate  to  the 
main  theme,  namely,  the  geography  of  the  lands." 

Again  on  page  7,  "As  there  must  be  a  selection  of  topics,  the  Con- 
ference recommend  that  the  nature  of  the  processes  involved  in  the 
formation  and  modification  of  the  earth's  surface,  essentially  so  indi- 
cated under  the  head  of  physiography,  be  regarded  as  having  the 
most  vital  importance,  both  to  the  general  student  and  to  the 
prospective  teacher." 

Or  on  page  8,  "  Physiography,  a  more  advanced  treatment  of  our 
physical  environment,  in  which  the  agencies  and  processes  involved, 
the  origin,  development,  and  decadence  of  the  forms  presented,  and 
significance  of  the  features  of  the  earth's  face,  are  the  leading 
themes." 

Or  again  on  page  27,  "  We  shall  here  confine  ourselves  to  the 
physiography  of  the  land." 

And  again  on  page  30,  "  For  the  sake  of  brevity,  we  shall  consider 
only  that  part  of  the  subject,  that  is  concerned  with  the  development 
of  the  land  forms." 

As  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  understand  the  so-called  advanced 
and  modernized  physical  geography,  it  is  fairly  crystallized  in  the 
following  phrase,  taken  from  page  30,  of  the  Report: 

"Its  progress  from  first  beginning  in  constructional  uplifting,  or 
accumulation,  towards  its  end  in  a  completed  lowland  of  denudation." 

I  believe  no  further  comment  is  necessary  in  this  connection  unless 
it  be  to  review  the  very  curious  reason  assigned  for  the  introduction 
of  pltysiography  into  the  high-school  course  (see  page  7)  : 

"  Unless  eijther  physiography  or  geology  is  retained  in  the  high 
school  and  given  vitality  and  efficiency,  a  serious  danger  threatens 
the  whole  geographic  line  of  study  in  the  lower  schools,  for  the  great 
mass  of  teachers  of  geography  have  not  taken  courses  beyond  the 
high  schools,  and  in  the  imme'diate  future  are  not  likely  to  go  further 
in  their  education,  and  if  they  are  not  taught  the  elementary  processes 
and  principles  of  these  sciences  then  they  will  have  little  real  strength 
as  teachers  of  geography."  The  Conference  have  curiously  con- 
founded the  functions  of  the  high  school  with  that  of  the  normal 
school.  Comment  is  unnecessary. 

As  regards  the  advisability  of  introducing  meteorology  into  the 
high-school  course  in  place  of  physical  geograptnr,  the  same  general 
objections  can  be  urged  as  in  the  case  of  physiography;  viz.,  the 
replacing  of  a  special  for  a  general  study. 


248  GEOGRAPHY. 

It  would  in  my  judgment  be  bad  enough  if  it  were  proposed  to 
substitute  the  general  subject  of  the  atmosphere  and  its  phenomena 
for  the  more  extended  subject  of  physical  geography  ;  but  to  propose 
a  substitution  of  the  highly  specialized  subject  the  Committee  desire 
to  make  of  meteorology,  namely,  the  weather  and  its  attendant 
phenomena,  is,  I  feel  sure,  a  great  error,  and  one  calculated  to  work 
much  harm  to  that  part  of  the  school  system  on  which  the  college 
and  university  depends  so  largely  for  its  students. 

I  will  not  attempt  here  to  point  out  the  fact  that  the  distribution  of 
the  topics  proposed  under  meteorology  is  somewhat  illogical  as  regards 
order  of  sequence  and,  therefore,  not  calculated  to  insure  the  best 
results ;  for,  this  is  unnecessary,  being  secondary  in  consideration  to 
the  objection  urged  against  the  subject  itself. 

I  agree  with  the  recommendation  of  the  Majority  Report  "  That  it 
is  the  sense  of  this  Conference  that  colleges  should  accept  as  pre- 
paratory work,  in  such  due  measure  as  a  fair  estimate  of  their  value 
shall  permit,  all  studies  which  the  high  schools  are  compelled  by  their 
conditions  to  teach,  and  that,  by  arranging  their  requirements  for 
admission,  the  colleges  should  make  provision  for  a  number  of  alter- 
native subjects  or  adaptive  studies  sufficient  to  permit  the  high  schools 
to  subserve  their  primary  functions,  and  at  the  same  time  prepare 
their  students  for  college  without  disadvantageous  dispersion  of 
effort." 

I  do  not,  however,  agree  with  them  "  That  physiography,  geology, 
and  meteorology  should  be  given  in  the  terms  of  admission  to  college 
values  equal  to  the  full  extent  of  the  work  expended  in  their 
pursuit;"  for  this,  in  my  judgment,  would  be  giving  separate  credits 
for,  in  many  respects,  two  closely  allied  subjects  ;  namely,  physiog- 
raphy and  geology. 

.  Nor  can  I  see  any  valid  reason  why  so  comparatively  special  a 
subject  as  that  of  physiography  should  be  given  any  preference  over 
any  other  special  branches  of  geography. 

I  desire  in  this  connection  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Committee 
of  Ten  to  the  fact  that  for  some  reason  which  I  am  unable  to  com- 
prehend, the  Majority  Report  fails  to  make  any  provision  whatever 
for  the  studies  of  botany  and  zoology,  or  generally  for  the  subject  of 
biology.  Why  the  particular  branches  of  physical  geography  recom- 
mended have  been  selected  to  the  exclusion  of  the  remaining  branches 
is  difficult  to  say. 

/*  In  conclusion,  I  desire  to  take  direct  issue  with  the  statement 
1  repeatedly  made  during  the  Conference,  and  contained  by  inference 
\  in  the  Majority  Report,  that  all  existing  works  on  physical  geography 
^  are  practically  useless  because  insufficiently  modernized  and  advanced. 


GEOGRAPHY.  249 

The  magnificent  works  of  Humboldt,  the  valuable  comparative  *") 
geography  of  Ritter,  and  the  classic  writings  of  Guyot,  treat  of 
physical  geography  or  geophysics  ?n  its  truest,  broadest  sense,  and 
need  far  better  argument  and  more  convincing  reasons  than  those 
advanced  by  the  Majority  Report,  in  order  to  be  successfully  relegated 
to  obscurity. 

It  may  be  interesting  here  to  note  how  exceedingly  new  is  the 
modernized  and  advanced  physical  geography  referred  to  in  the 
Report,  that  the  Conference  express  their  conviction  that,  in  all 
probability,  it  cannot  be  taught  except  by  the  happy  few  who  have 
mastered  ii,  and  that  the  Conference,  therefore,  gravely  recommend 
that  until  Physiography  be  put  in  accessible  form  the  study  of 
geology,  pure  and  simple,  be  substituted  for  it.  That  they  should 
be  willing  to  recommend  the  displacement  of  a  well  tried  branch  for 
the  sake  of  a  branch  they  acknowledge  cannot  yet  be  generally  taught, 
can  hardly  be  regarded  as  partaking  of  that  broad,  liberal  spirit  in 
modern  educational  matters  so  necessary  for  true  advance. 

EDWIN  J.  HOUSTON. 


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